The Web Wizard
by Calle Ann Rhodes
Summary: Hogwart's decides to get into the 21st century by getting a website built. They not only hire a muggle, but an AMERICAN muggle to do so! PG13 for language and implied romantic situations.
1. Chapter 1 - A most Unusual Day

**DISCLAIMER:** _All characters except Tara, Susan, Joan, and a handful of other muggles- were created by JK Rowling, so please don't come get me, as I am unemployed (well, self-employed) and just having a bit of fun. Tara's cats are based on my real life cats, Thor and Noelle. Thor has his own website at www.catinthesink.com Now have fun reading my story. It has been fun tow write!_

**

Chapter 1

**

Tara rolled out of bed after realizing that it was light outside. One cat was yeowling in the bathroom sink, and the other was methodically rubbing Tara's nose with her nose. 

"Okay, I got the hint, Heidi!" she said, getting up with the sleek, black cat. Sure enough the food dish was empty, so Tara filled it, the sound of the food hitting the dish bringing Henry out of the bathroom sink to eat. Tara closed the food canister and yawned. Man what a night, she thought to herself, opening the fridge and grabbing a Diet Pepsi. Her friend, Susan had been over, and they had listened to classic rock and roll (Tara had quite a collection of CDs as well as vinyl) and then ended up watching romantic movies and polished off 2 and a half bottles of fine California wine. So Tara was feeling understandably blurry around the edges! Luckily Susan lived around the corner so she didn't have to drive home. 

Tara opened the refrigerator again and grabbed a bottled water and downed the entire thing, then grabbed her pepsi and shuffled into her office. Her computers were whirring as usual, and she sat down and moved the mouse on her PC to see how much email she had gotten overnight. 

Tara designed websites for a living. She was 35, single, and worked out of her house. This was the start of a typical day. What Tara didn't realize was that this day would be anything but typical. 

Along with the 30 or so spam emails, she had an inquiry through her business website. Opening the email, she saw that this person was interested in a brand new website. She had it set up so if they filled out a form on her site, it would email them a sparkling response automatically, thanking them for contacting her, with a little bit of background, and that someone would get back to them soon. She took pride in immediately responding to her inquiries. This message had come in around 2 AM her time, so she knew it was coming from somewhere overseas, and from the looks of the email address, it was somewhere in the UK. 

It never mattered where her customers were; she had customers "from sea to shining sea," as she put it. She rattled off a personalized note to the person inquiring and mentioned that she was in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA, but that wouldn't stop things, as the Internet had made the world a much smaller place. She had never had any outside of the United States, however. Unusual. It wasn't long before her email chimed and she already had a response back to the message she had just rattled off to the UK prospect. 

"Someone is as depraved as I am about answering email quickly," she told Henry, who had walked in from his breakfast. The large cat rubbed against her legs. He had been sitting in the sink with the water on just a trickle, so his wet tail rubbed against Tara's bare ankles and she made a face. 

"Nothing like a cold, wet cat in the morning," she murmured, opening the email. 

The email was done in HTML and was very ornately designed, and even in a cursive font. That is not easy to do unless you are sure the person on the other end has the same font that you've specified in your code, so whoever it was was pretty cleaver, she summed up. 

Tara read the note. 

Greetings! 

I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of the Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry We are in need of an internet presence, and I have been told by many that you are one of the best Website Experts in the world. 

I need to arrange a meeting with you at once so we can get started. We would like you to spend a term here at the school so you can get a feel for who we are and what we do. 

Please let us know when we can arrange a first meeting. 

What the? Wizardry and Witchcraft? What the heck is that? Is that where magicians go to hone their craft or something? Spend a term there? Is Albus Dumbledore a real name or a cartoon character? Um, how could she manage that? And she'd have to fly overseas? Tara shivered. She was _deathly_ afraid to fly, and this fear was long before September 11, 2001. She wrote back: 

Dear Mr. Dumbledore: 

I was pleased to receive your note, and I'm sure I could be of assistance to help you with your internet presence. However, I am not sure how I could meet with you. I have to admit that I am terribly afraid of flying. Even if I weren't, going overseas for an indetermined amount of time would take some arranging as I have other clients to take care of. Of course, if I could take all of my equipment and my 2 cats, it would not be an issue. 

Is it possible to work together without me having to get in a pressurized steel tube for 18 hours and defy gravity? 

I'm anxious to hear from you. 

Tara Hall   
Web Wizards Website Development 

She clicked send, and the email was off, and she began her work day. She had a banner ad to design and some programming to do for one of her customers' e-commerce sites. A couple of hours later, she heard a strange racket and Henry the cat came tearing into her office and dove under the desk. 

"What the--" she said, and heard a man's voice saying "hello??" and a knocking sound. Oh my GOD there's someone in the house! She gasped and grabbed her .44 which she kept in a drawer next to her in case this ever happened. Living alone, she never knew. 

Slowly and silently, she crept out into the living room. The knocking was coming from the fireplace. She couldn't figure it out, then she saw a white bearded face with spectacles peering through the glass from inside the fireplace insert at her! 

"Tara? I'm Albus Dumbledore!" he said. 

Tara took a step backwards. This had to be a weird hangover dream. She swiped her shoulder-length dark hair out of her eyes and shook her head rapidly, and looked again. He was still peering out of the fireplace insert at her. 

"Could you open the door to let me out? I won't hurt anything. I'm a little bit dusty is all," the man was saying. Tara had her gun in one hand and carefully unlatched the door. If this was a dream, it was a weird one...might as well play it out. 

The man stepped out of the fireplace and stood up. He was in full robes and had a long white beard and waist length white hair, and what looked like a wizard's cap on his head, which he took off and shook the soot out of. He coughed, and extended his hand. 

"Excuse the dusty entrance," he said, still extending his hand. Tara raised her gun at him, and didn't move a muscle. Here brown eyes were huge and focused on him, and the gun sight. 

"Young lady, I wouldn't harm a hair on your head," he said. 

"How-how'd you get in here? In there?" Tara asked, still pointing the barrel at her strange visitor. 

"Well, if you'd permit me to explain about what we do at Hogwart's, it'll become clear. Now can you stop pointing that muggle weapon at me?" 

"Huh? What kind of weapon?" 

To her astonishment, the old man sighed, and suddenly the gun was so hot it was about to burn her hand. She dropped it, and stared at it, then at him. He looked at her again, and she could see kindness in his eyes, and that he was being patient for her benefit. 

"Once again, I am Albus Dumbledore. I sent you a post--oh what do you muggles call it when you use those contraptions to communicate--e something..." 

"E-mail?" she asked. 

"Right, that's it. You muggles have quite an interesting thing with this net thing. That's what led me to you." 

"What exactly is a muggle?" she asked, feeling a little calmer now. 

"Oh, that. Well, I must tell you about myself and Hogwarts and then it'll make sense. Can I trouble you for some tea?" 

"Uh, yeah. What kind?" 

"You're an American and you actually have more than one kind of tea?" he mused. Tara made a face. 

"Believe it or not, yes. I like tea." 

He chose a raspberry tea and she fired up the teapot. He sat down at her kitchen table and she looked over at him and shook her head, trying to shake herserlf awake. There wasn't really this strange old bird with long white hair in her kitchen about to drink tea, was there? 

Henry made his way into the kitchen, timidly. He didn't like strangers, but once he saw this stranger, for once in his life, he ran up to him and began meowing loudly. 

"Is that right? Well I didn't mean to startle you, Henry," Dumbledore crooned, scratching Henry's large head between his ears. "Where did Heidi go off to?" Henry murmured some cat sounds, and Tara stopped. 

"How do you know their names?" she demanded. 

"Henry just told me." 

"He _told_ you?" she stammered. 

Her strange guest nodded. 

How do you--understand him? 

"Well let's start now. Tara, I'm a wizard." 

Tara sat down on the kitchen floor with a loud thunk. She would quit drinking. That was it. No more hangovers and weird dreams. But, she needed a smoke now. She went to retrieve her pack of clove cigarettes out of her purse, which was hanging near the door. 

"Are you okay?" Dumbledore asked. 

Tara opened up the back door and stood in the doorway and lit her cigarette. Although the scent of clove cigarettes was rather pleasant, she hated the smell that was left in the house. Tara smoked about a pack a week. No more than that, and always outside. She took a deep drag and exhaled outside the door, and held her cigarette outside of the door. 

"Yes, I mean...no...is that how you got in the fireplace?" she asked. The old man nodded, and then began telling her of a world she never knew existed. A world of wizards and sorcery, where people flew on broomsticks and even played a sport on broomsticks. The quickest way of transportation was through fireplaces with something called Floo Powder, and that was how he had gotten there. 

She finished smoking, came inside, and poured him more tea. He told her of his world until the clock on the mantle struck 2 PM. She sat, wide eyed, listening. Finally, he had finished and she knew it was not a dream. 

"So, Tara, are you up to the task of making us a -- what is it called--?" 

"A web site?" 

"Yes, that's it. A web site. Makes me think of spider nests." 

Tara smiled. "But what would wizards and magical people want with websites? Seems kind of primative for your type," Tara observed. 

"Belive it or not, it's catching on. Some of our library material has begun to be archived by some of our students onto this net. It's much easier for our students to do research since we installed some of those machines in the library and in someo f the dorms. So, there is a need. I was dead set against us, but I have to look at our students and they are our future, so we need to be up with the times. So, can you do it?" 

Tara sighed. "I guess I don't have to fly in an airplane then, or can us muggles use floo powder?" 

"I can teach you, I think. I have heard great things about you in my world." 

"How?" 

"Word travels fast." 

Tara finally smiled. "Wow, I get _all_ of my business through referrals!" 

Chapter 2 


	2. Chapter 2 - Tara Prepares for her Journe...

**

Chapter 2

**

Tara had put her things in order as best as she could. Her mother was not very pleased that she would be so far away, but she explained that she could visit often. Her mother had a fireplace, and Dumbledore had let Tara's mother in on the secret, and they used Mrs. Hall's fireplace as training so Tara would get the hang of using Floo Powder. 

"It's better than Star Trek, mom," Tara said, and her mother agreed. 

Tara had rented her home to a couple who she had checked out thoroughly and had explained the rules to. The rules were no smoking inside the house, and no dogs inside the house. Pretty basic. Susan agreed to check on the house and perform landlord duties on Tara's behalf for a percentage of the rent. Susan didn't want to be paid, but Tara insisted. "I can write it off," she told her. "In fact, I can write off the whole thing, but Hogwart's is hosting me over there." 

The day finally came and she had loaded up a large container with what she needed - software, scanners, digital cameras, readers, computers - plus her personal things, and she went into the living room, with Heidi And Henry in their carriers. 

"Well guys, I hope this doesn't freak you out too badly," she said, giving them each a sedative. She figured that was best. The whirling vortex experience of using Floo powder might send either one of her sensitive cats over the edge. 

The hour of 11:00 arrived, and she opened up the fireplace insert doors. She heard a WHOOSH and Dumbledore came out, and then another whoosh, and a man she didn't know slid out and stood before her. 

He was the most austere man she had ever seen. He was dressed all in black, with a black flowing robe around him. His hair was sort of stringy and shoulder length, black, and his eyes were piercing and matched his black hair and clothes. There was something that rooted Tara to the floor upon seeing him, that made her almost shiver. It was as if a cold wind had just blasted out of the arctic into her California living room. 

"Hello, Miss Hall, permit me to introduce Professor Severus Snape. He is our Potions Master at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. 

Snape stepped towards Tara, forcing a slight smile, and extended a hand. 

"Pleasure," he purred, but there was a cold edge to his tone. 

Tara began to respond but no sound came out. She coughed, and stammered, "Pleasure." 

"I brought him along to get him out of his dungeon, and also we need a hand with your gear, plus he's never seen a muggle home before, at least not in the United States," Dumbledore explained. 

Tara turned to the tall, dark, malovelent stranger to size him up. Yes, he certainly looked like he worked in a dungeon; she was glad he wasn't wearing shorts or she might have needed sunglasses to shield her eyes from the glare. As if he were reading her mind, he stared right into her eyes and if it were possible, she would have turned to stone. Frightened, a thought struck her "it might _be_ possible!" so she quickly looked away. 

Dumbledore was talking to Henry and Heidi and Tara noticed Snape taking in the surroundings. She didn't like this guy at all. She hoped she wouldn't have to deal with him much. 

"Can I get you some tea before we go?" she asked. 

"No time, but thank you for the offer," Dumbledore told her, standing up from speaking to the cats. "They said they are really feeling sleepy, more so than usual, and you crammed something down their throats. Is this true?" 

"I'm afraid so, sir. I figure the experience of floo powder would freak them out bigtime, so I gave them sedatives. Can you tell them I'm sorry for having to do that? I hate pilling them. I trust you have good veterinary care at Hogwarts for them?" 

"They will have excellent care, as we have potions that you muggles have never even dreamed of," Snape said, slowly. She turned to him wondering if he was sincere, or if he was planning on poisoning her cats. 

"There are a great deal of cats at Hogwart's. They'll be in good company," Dumbledore assured her. Tara looked quickly at Snape again who nodded, and she felt a little bit better. Maybe that was just his way of talking, she decided. Nevertheless, this guy freaked her out. 

"Shall we get going?" Snape asked. 

"Yes, I think we'll need a few trips. She has a lot of equipment to bring," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the computers. Snape smirked and said something under his breath that sounded like "Muggle technology...hmph." Tara felt a flame of anger rise in her but clamped her mouth shut. She feared he might turn her into a lamp or something if she went off on him. 

"Well, how should we do this?" she asked Dumbledore, ignoring Snape. 

"Why don't you go first and we'll come back and get all of your gear. Grab your cats so they'll be with you. When you get to Hogwart's, you'll be in a great hall. Just sit and wait for us; we'll be along shortly," Dumbledore explained. 

"Are you sure a muggle can handle travelling by floo powder all the way to Hogwart's? Why didn't she go in one of those aero-planes?" Snape drawled. 

"I'm scared as shit to fly," she said, and Snape turned quickly to stare at her. 

"Excuse me, I uh, I hate to fly. Scares me. And that was before September 11th." 

"Yes, I meant to express my grief at what happened in your country," Snape said very slowly, which surprised and touched her. 

"Thank you." _Man, this guy is a trip!_ she thought. One minute he's sneering about her muggle ways, the next, he's expressing sympathy. Sheesh! Someone needs a 12 step program.... 

"So go ahead, you are an expert at this by now," Dumbledore said with a wink. 

She pitched a handful of floo powder, then picked up Henry and Heidi's cat carriers and entered... 

Chapter 3 


	3. Chapter 3 - Tara's Journey and Arrival

**

Chapter 3

**

Tara tried not to scream as she went through her journey. The first few times she had used floo powder to get to her mom's, she had screamed, but she got used to it in time. But this time was taking so _long!_ It was 51 miles to her mom's house, and she guess-timated that the trip to Hogwart's was more than 6000 miles. Henry and Heidi were strangely quiet; perhaps Dumbledore had explained things to them and they understood better than she, a mere muggle, did. 

Finally, she tumbled out and did her best to land on her feet but she was not that agile. She landed on her right hip with a thunk, and was worried about her cats in their carriers. She had a firm grip on them but still came crashing to a stop. 

A quick glance in each carrier revealed a wide-eyed cat (the sedative had worn off?) but each seemed okay. Tara rolled over on her back and closed her eyes. She was strangely exhausted; but that was a side effect of a muggle using floo powder. Dumbledore had explained that after her first journey to her mother's fireplace and back where she slept for several hours upon returning home. 

She didn't know she had been asleep when she opened her eyes. She found herself in a room dimly lit by candles in sconces mounted to what looked like stone walls. Henry was in the crook of her arm, the way he always slept, and Heidi was on her feet. That was the only normal thing. She dropped off to sleep again and didn't wake up until it was light outside, and Heidi was nudging her. She sat straight up wondering where she was, and then instantly knew. She was in a large 4 poster bed with blue linens, and the walls were stone. A window overlooked a beautiful, green meadow and the sunlight streamed in. She got out of bed and realized someone had dressed her in a gown of some type. Her computer equipment was set up at at the 'desk of her dreams' in the corner; and someone had laid out all of the network connectors and hubs but hadn't connected them. 

The stone floor was cold under her bare feet as she glided out of bed and to the window to look out. There was a knock on her door. 

"Come in," she said. 

A tall, thin woman with graying hair and flowing black robes came into the room. 

"I'm Professor McGonagall, pleased to meet you, Miss Hall," she said, extending a hand. 

"Call me Tara. Nice to meet you too. How long was I asleep?" she asked. 

"Call me Minerva," she said with a smile, "Oh, about a day and a half. Muggles and Floo powder don't mix, but I understand you have an aversion to common muggle air travel," she said, her eyes twinkling, and she smiled. Tara returned the smile. 

"As you can see, your equipment is here, but hasn't been hooked up. None of us know how. But, the T1 line has been installed, and," she laughed a little bit, "we had to put a memory charm so the installers wouldn't remember what they saw here! But you have your broadband connection." 

"Oh good. I can hook it all up, that isn't a problem, and I can communicate with my server over in the USA." 

"Wonderful!" 

"What's on tap for today?" Tara asked. 

"The Hogwart's Express, bringing the students will arrive two days from today. We will be bringing you up to speed until then. We'll need you to take photos of the different events which are coming up around the arrival - the Hogwart's Express arrival, the sorting, and the banquet. All of that happens in two days. This all needs to be on the -- oh why can't I get this committed to memory?" 

"Web site," Tara said, simply. 

"Yes, web site! Oh, and who are these wonderful cats?" she asked, as Henry leaned against her leg. 

"You haven't met them? They seem at home here already," Tara said, and sighed. 

"You'll find that they adapt quickly," Minerva commented. 

"Way more quickly than when I moved into my house! I didn't see Henry for a week!" 

"Well, I'll leave you to get ready, and I'll come back in say, a half hour, to take you to the great hall for breakfast. You were in such a state, I know we couldn't show you anything when you arrived!" 

Tara made a face as she wondered about that as Minerva turned to leave the room. 

"How did I get into this room?" 

Minerva turned to her again, "Well you were carried, of course, my dear! See you in a half hour," she said, and closed the door behind her. 

Carried? By whom? Hopefully not by...Tara shivered. No, probably not. Who dressed her? Oh my GOD! she thought. No, they could do that by magic...she hoped... 


	4. Chapter 4 - Tara's First Day on the Grou...

**

Chapter 4

**

Tara found her things laid out neatly an adjoining bathroom. The shower was all rock and it reminded her of when she had spent her honeymoon at _The Madonna Inn_ in California where the room was decorated in stone and she had a waterfall shower. Way back when she was 20 and in love with her ex husband, James. She had been so young then, and so in love. They drove each other crazy and the marriage failed after only a year. He had remained in her thoughts and they still kept in touch, and he had remarried. Tara figured she never would marry again; once was enough! 

Tara peeled off her night gown and turned on the water to warm it up. Henry had followed her in as he always did. He liked to sit in the sink and have the water on just a trickle; his imitation of her, she figured. She obliged him, and the 15 pound cat settled in the roundness of the sink and cleaned himself. 

Tara stepped into the shower and let the water run over her face. As she closed her eyes, she saw James' face, and then, strangely, that dark guy, Snape! She realized they resembled each other, then quickly shook Snape's face out of her mind with disgust. She hoped he stayed in his dungeon so she didn't have to be around him. She had only been around him for a few minutes, but he absolutely unnerved her! She would have to see how her cats behaved around him; they were always excellent judges of character. If they didn't like someone she was dating, it always seemed that within a few weeks, she didn't like him either. 

She finished up her shower and wrapped herself in one of her thick terrycloth robes she had brought. She noticed that she had a small refrigerator in her room, and yes, it was stocked with Diet Pepsi and California Wine! How nice! She grabbed a Pepsi, opened it, and threw down a fair amount, then opened her dresser. Her clothes were folded neatly inside. Wow, these people were great! She noticed an armoire, so she had to open that to see what was in it. Her portable CD player was in there, plus her mp3 player, a TV and clothes. But, the clothes that were there were not all hers; some of her dresses she had brought were there, but there were some long robes in royal blue, black, burgundy and jade green. Hmmm. Were those for her? 

She noticed the time and slipped into a pair of jeans and one of her racing t shirts which she felt comfortable in. She found her sock drawer and put on a pair of Indy 500 anklets. She had about 4 pairs. She hoped they would let her go to the race that May...not a big deal using floo powder, except for the sleepy thing. Maybe she could go stay with her friend...but then how would she explain her strange entrance? These thoughts flew out of her head when Minerva knocked on the door. 

"Coming," Tara said, tying her tennis shoes and grabbing her fanny pack. She put her cigarettes and a small hairbrush in and hoped she could sneak off somewhere to have one after breakfast. She opened the door and didn't see Minerva, but a gray striped cat sitting in front of the door looking up at her. 

"Wow, are you here to visit Henry and Heidi?" she asked, giving the cat's head a rub. The cat walked back a few steps, and Tara couldn't believe what she saw next. The cat all of a sudden before Tara's wondering eyes became Minerva. Tara dropped to her knees in a dead faint. 

"Oh dear," Minerva muttered, and turned to see if anyone was around to help her carry the poor muggle woman into her room again. She only saw one person in the corridor. "Severus! Come help me. She's fainted," Minerva said, and Snape came over to help Minerva. 

"What happened?" he asked Minerva, as he lifted Tara's limp form, eyeing the jeans and t shirt curiously. 

"I forgot. I wasn't my usual self when I came to get her..." Minerva began. Snape half smiled (about as much as he ever did), and set Tara on the bed. Minerva unfastened the stars and stripes fanny pack which was around Tara's slim waist. 

"These muggles sure dress strangely, don't they?" she commented. Snape only smirked. 

Snape went to the bathroom to get a cold cloth and brought it back to put on Tara's forehead. Minerva sat on the bed holding the cloth to her forehead while Henry and Heidi jumped on the bed to see what was wrong. 

"She'll be okay, she's not used to our ways," Minerva told Henry, who meowed with concern. Henry looked up at Minerva with large green eyes, then looked at Snape and flattened his ears. Snape reached out gently and began stroking the large cat's head, sending him into loud, rolling purrs. 

Tara opened her eyes, and her vision was blurred at first, like before she had her lasik surgery and would wake up blind in the morning. Something cold and wet was on her forehead, and she could hear Henry purring almost as loudly as he had purred as a kitten. Her vision cleared and she looked to see a large hand stroking Henry's head, then looked up to see who the hand belonged to and then squeezed her eyes shut again. 

"I'm sorry, I forgot you're not used to things," Minerva said. 

"So it wasn't a dream?" 

"Nope. You fainted dead away," Minerva said gently. 

Tara opened her eyes again and looked at Snape, right in the eyes and said, "I swear it's a bad dream." She took the cloth from her forehead and sat up slowly, then looked again at Henry who was eating up the wonderful massage Tara's nemesis was administering, then made a face at Snape. 

"I guess he likes you. He never likes anyone," she commented. "I guess I'm ready to go. If that's the craziest shit I'm going to--excuse me, the craziest _stuff_ I'm going to see today, then it's all uphill, right?" 

"Perhaps," Snape said. He started to help her to her feet but she brushed him away. 

"What's for breakfast?" she asked. Hopefully something normal...She picked up her stars and stripes fanny pack and looked up quickly to see Snape eyeing the bag. She gave him a dark look and fastened it around her waist. 

"What would you like?" Minerva asked. They entered the corridor, Minerva and Tara walking side by side with Snape behind them. 

"Eggs, bacon...is it possible? Or is it dragon eggs and bat wings or something?" Tara joked. Minerva smiled and squeezed her arm. She liked this muggle! 

"I think we can come up with something you'll like," she told her. Tara smiled and took in the massive corridor. She had never been in a castle before. They descended the stairs as Minerva explained where things were, and the stairs changed, so be careful. Even more fascinating were the paintings. The people in them were moving about and visiting each other in other paintings. Tara was amazed, and stopped to stare at them. 

"She's not going to faint again, is she?" Snape growled. 

"No, I'm just looking," Tara snapped. Man this guy was getting on her last nerve and it was early in the day. Count to ten, count to ten, she told herself. They started walking again, and then went into a huge hall. Tara gasped when she saw the ceiling wasn't really a ceiling at all; it was the sky and clouds. 

"What do you do when it rains?" she asked. 

"It won't rain in here," Minerva said. There were endlessly long tables and a large table at the head of the hall. Dumbledore was seated in the middle of that table, and several other faculty members took notice of this obvious outsider coming up the aisle. 

"Sheesh, take a picture it'll last longer," Tara muttered under her breath. 

"They aren't used to having a muggle in their midst - certainly not one from the USA," Minerva whispered. 

"Okay, I guess not. But do they have to stare so?" 

Severus looked again at what this muggle was wearing and shook his head. Luckily, he was behind her so she did not see. She stuck out like a sore thumb among them. He dared not say anything to her; he knew he was clearly annoying her, and they did have to work together, so it was best to try to get along. There was something intriguing about her, that begged him to toy with her, to get her to say one of those retorts that Americans say so well. But he fought the temptation and won. For the moment... 

Minerva rattled off names of the faculty members to Tara and introduced Tara, and struggled with her title. "Web - uh, mistress?" she asked. 

"Web Master," Tara corrected, "and yes, I'm a muggle. Judging from my flat American accent, you know where I'm from. I've never been out of the USA before, and I'm pleased to be here." 

One of the faculty members, a woman who looked about 10 years older than Tara and reminded hera of a cat, smiled warmly. Tara returned the smile, feeling a little more at ease. 

Tara was seated between this 'cat lady' and Minerva, and thankfully no where near Snape. Then all of a sudden, there was a flash and a breakfast materialized in front of Tara. She felt her heart skip a few beats and her jaw nearly hit her lap. Minerva noticed and put her hand on her wrist. 

"I should have told you about this," she said, "you okay?" Tara nodded, and put her napkin in her lap. Just as she started eating, the door at the other end of the hall opened, and a huge animal bounded in. 

"Sorry," the animal muttered, "I overslept!" As he drew closer, Tara saw that this was not an animal at all, but a very large man with a huge beard and lots of hair. He looked at Tara and smiled. 

"Ah, yes, you must be our new muggle smart person," he said. There was something very warming about this man, as he took his place at the table. 

"Tara Hall, this is Rubeus Hagrid. He is our games keeper, and also teaches Care of Magical Creatures," Dumbledore explained. 

"Pleased to meet you," she said. 

"Pleasure's mine. We don't get muggles here very often." 

"That's what I understand." 

They continued their breakfast, and Minerva outlined what would be happening when the students arrived, and that she should accompany Hagrid to the train station to photograph and take in the event. 

After breakfast, Tara excused herself and slipped out the door for a smoke. The castle was magnificent and she knew she should have brought her digital camera from her room, but her room was way up on the 10th floor. She sighed, and wondered if she might go get it before Minerva gave her the grand tour. Lost in thought, the door to the hall swung open and Snape strode out into the corridor. He sniffed the air, looked at her and frowned. 

"Nasty muggle habit of mine," she said, holding up her cigarette. His eyes bore into hers and he nodded, then strode away from her. 

"Off to your dungeon then," she said under her breath. He turned around quickly, as if he heard her. Did these magical types have extra powerful senses, she wondered? He stared at her, in a way that should have turned her to stone, then turned and continued walking away. She stuck her tongue out at him, and again he stopped, and Tara's stomach leapt, but he didn't turn around. She thought she heard him mutter something but decided it would be best not to pursue it. He can turn me into a lamp....remember, he can turn me into a lamp...she told herself over and over... 

Minerva soon came out of the hall. "Oh there you are," she said. 

"Yes, just enjoying my awful muggle habit. Can I go upstairs to get my camera? I really should be taking photos before all of the students arrive, don't you think?" 

"Good point. I'll meet you right here then? Can you find your way up to your room?" 

"Um, now that I'm not sure. My sense of direction is so-so, but those changing staircases..." 

They made the long trip up to the room and back. Henry and Heidi had feline visitors and were having a good time with each other, laying on the wide windowsill grooming each other. It was so strange to see them behave this way. 

"I noticed some robes that are in my room. Are those for me to wear?" Tara asked Minerva, as they strode out onto a field that looked like a stadium of some sort. 

"If you choose to. You've probably noticed that you're dressed a bit differently than we are," she said, as tactfully as possible. She didn't want to hurt Tara's feelings, but she did look very out of place. 

"Okay I might do that. The way everyone was staring at me this morning..." Tara sighed heavily. 

"By the way, what is on your shirt?" Minerva asked, smiling, "I just have to know..." 

Tara looked down at her shirt which had the Indy 500 logo from that year and a race car. 

"I go every year...it's a race. Held in Indianapolis, Indiana. These cars--" she pointed at the car on her shirt, "...they can go over 200 miles per hour, which in my world is FAST. They run 500 miles around an oval track. It's really fun, and a million people go to the race, and it's a blast. I do a team's web site so I get to be on the track with media credentials. It's great fun..." she sighed. 

"When is it?" Minerva asked. 

"May - Memorial day--oh wait this isn't the US. The last Sunday in May. I don't suppose I get to go this year." 

"Why not?" 

"I have to be here." 

"Tara, we're not slave drivers. Take a holiday! Go! Perhaps I'd like to go with you, it sounds like great fun...if I can get away." 

"That would be fun! So, what is this place? It looks like a stadium." 

"It is. Here, we play Quidditch." 

"Play what?" 

Minerva smiled and began explaining a game played on broomstick called Quidditch. 

"Wait a minute - on broomsticks?" 

"Dumbledore didn't explain that part?" 

"No. I guess he didn't explain a lot of things..." 

"Well, there's a lot of ground to cover, so it's easy to take certain things for granted." 

"I guess so!" 

By the end of the day, Tara was fairly acquainted with the ways of Quidditch, and the courses that were taught to the students. At the feast, that night, she spoke to the 'cat woman' who was Madamae Hooch, about Quidditch. She was the one who taught the students how to fly and refereed the Quidditch games there at the school, and Tara was fascinated by her. 

After dinner, Tara went outside to smoke and watched the moon come up over the water. It was beautiful. She felt the hair on the back of her neck suddenly prickle as someone was coming up behind her. She already instinctively knew who it was. 

"I see you found your robes," Severus purred. 

Tara had chosen the royal blue one and it was very comfortable. She nodded and was tempted to just blurt out "WHADDYA WANT?" but held her tongue. 

"It's a bit drafty underneath though," she said. She didn't know if she was supposed to wear anything under it except her underwear or not. The comment intrigued Severus and he had to chase certain mental images out of his mind. 

"How was your first day?" he asked. Now why was he trying to make small talk with her? She turned around to face him, and exhaled. 

"It was good. Interesting. Fascinating... Cigarette?" she asked, taunting him, holding out her pack to him. She just couldn't resist. 

"I think not," was all he said with a scowl, his fathomless eyes penetrating her challenge. She looked away, uncomfortable, but she had enjoyed the moment of perhaps getting under his skin for a change. 

"Good evening, Miss Hall." 

"Good evening, Professor Snape." 

He strode away from her and she was filled with all sorts of confused feelings. He really got her panties in a bunch, but at the same time, her knees felt weak. Man, I need therapy, she thought, crushing out her cigarette. She ascended the stairs to her room, figuring at this rate, she'd lose 20 lbs in 2 weeks going up and down all of those stair all day, every day. 

Once in her room, she dressed for bed, and laid in her bed with her cats for a long time. So far from home, she felt homesick. She was making a mental list of things to do the next day - including hooking up her computer to check e-mail- when she drifted off. 

Severus was in his room, putting the finishing touches on his curriculum for fifth year students when his mind drifted off to that American muggle. She was so intriguing and he enjoyed pissing her off. He waved the image out of his head so he could concentrate at the task at hand... 

Chapter 5: Crash Course in Computing 


	5. Chapter 5 - A Crash Course in Computerin...

**

Chapter 5

**

Tara woke the next morning as Heidi did her morning nose kiss ritual. Looking at the clock, she saw it was 5 AM. She groaned. This time difference was tough to get used to. It would be 1 PM back home. She tried to go back to sleep but it wasn't happening. With a groan, she got up, and turned on the lamp at her desk. Gotta get my computers networked, she told herself. 

The problem was, as Dumbledore had to explain to her, there was so much magic in the air, it took them quite a while to figure out how to shield the components to make computers even work at Hogwart's. So special precautions had to be made including lining the cases with a special metallic component, and special shielded cables had to be created. Luckily, there was a group of wizards who had created the technology to handle computers, so they would, indeed work at Hogwarts. It was just an obstacle. Tara had been assured that while she was touring the grounds on her first day, they had sent in the wizards to fix her computers she had brought with her so they would work. 

An hour later, she had everything up and running and was retrieving 167 e-mail messages. Sheesh! Be away from e-mail for a few days and look what happens. She had an e-mail from Dumbledore that he had apparently written the night before, requesting that she get their domain registered so they could all get proper e-mail accounts. She was impressed that he knew how to word that, but she had noticed him reading an Internet for Dummies book at the feast. 

The clock struck 7 and Tara took to the shower to get herself ready for breakfast. She managed to find her way to the hall all by herself this time. Minerva looked pleased when she saw her and bade her good morning, as several of the other faculty members did. Rubeus Hagrid came up beside her and Tara was surprised at how far up she had to look to see him. 

"I made it on time this morning," he told her. 

"I've been up since 5. Still on the States' time," she said, and sat down in her assigned seat. As soon as everyone had shown up, Albus spoke about the students' arrival the next day and this was the final day of preparation. When asked if there were any announcements, Tara raised her hand and was asked to stand. 

"I've registered the domain, so I can set up e-mail boxes for anyone who needs them," she began, and a hush fell over the room, and several faculty members exchanged looks of confusion. 

"I'm afraid a lot of us aren't very good at the terminology or concept," Albus commented, "perhaps you can give us a brief introduction?" 

"Um, sure. Well in our muggle world, we have these things called computers, and I think you all know what those are; I've seen quite a few around here, particularly in the library. I understand we have them in all of the dorms too, and part of my duty today is to make sure they are all up on the Internet. E-mail is electronic post; much like your owl post but it doesn't involve owls. You read your mail on the screen. Does everyone understand that much?" 

Several nods answered her question. 

"Okay, well if you want to be able to communicate via electronic mail, you need an e-mail address; where to find you. Perhaps I should do a demo later today. Is that possible?" she asked, looking to Albus, who nodded. 

"Okay well come see me and we'll set it up. Since Albus is your resident e-mail expert, I think he and I ought to demonstrate it for you this afternoon, if that's possible." 

They set up a demonstration for later that day, in which Albus would send Tara e-mail from his office and she would receive it in her room. One group was in Albus's office while the other in Tara's quarters and all gasped when the messages began going back and forth. But Tara had a surprise. She had taught Albus about the wonders of Instant Messaging, and had installed a commonly used Instant Message client on his computer for him. 

"Suppose I want to talk to Albus in real time?" 

"Then you'd go to see him, right?" Madame Hooch asked. 

"Well, I could, but there's another way. If he's online, I can tell. Look at this." Tara popped up a window that listed names, and saw Albus listed as online, and explained how she knew. She also saw that her mother was online, and at that moment, a message popped up from her mother. Tara's audience gasped. 

"What's that?" Hagrid asked. 

"That's my mom, back in the United States." 

They were in awe; Tara knew she had them in the palm of her hand. She began conversing with her mother, and then a message popped up from Albus. Everyone was amazed. Two hours later, Tara felt like she was the magical one, not the muggle in the group. They all thanked her and those who hadn't expressed an interest in a computer now had done a 180. 

Tara now had to check the dorms. She was almost finished; she only had the Slytherin house to finish up. She got in with her password, and entered. There were 6 computers in the main room; 3 were Macintosh and 3 were PCs. She fired up the router, and hooked them up to the T1 connection. That was great that they could have a T1 for everyone. She had brought a CD of some classic rock and put it on one of the computers and turned it up while she worked. All of the software was stored on the server she had set up in her quarters, so she grabbed it off the group drive and started installing everything. She was singing at the top of her lungs, staring at a status bar, then felt something. She turned around to see Severus Snape standing in the doorway. She immediately shut up and turned down the music. 

"I'm sorry, did I disturb you or wake you up or something?" she asked. He shook his head. 

"I just wondered when these -- these -- things would be hooked up," he said waving his hand at the computers. 

"They're hooked up, talking to the network, and I'm just about done with the software installs," she said, ejecting her CD from the machine she was playing music on. 

"Wasn't that a band from over here?" he asked inquisitively. 

"Yep. Led Zeppelin to be exact. The Rain Song is one of my favorites," she said and saw that the software had finished. She then went onto her server to assign a UNIX login for the Slytherin house, her hands flying over the keys. Snape was impressed at her speed. Then she was finished, and turned in her swivel chair, and stood up. 

"All done. Anything you want me to show you while I'm here?" she asked him. Might as well be nice and helpful, she figured. Showing them the wonders of the computer world had been a lot of fun and she felt lighthearted. 

"No, not right now. Oh wait, there is something. I think I want a computer in the dungeon. Can it be done?" 

"Is there a jack down there?" she asked. He looked at her, not understanding. 

"A what?" he asked tipping his head. Tara leaned over and pointed to the T1 jack in the wall. 

"It's where you plug the cat 5 in to connect to the network. If there's one already installed, no problem. If there isn't, I guess you'll have to call your guys who put these in and have them put in another, then erase their memories again." 

"Is it something you could do?" 

"Well, I could, but stashing wires is tough around here since the walls are stone. Let me take a look, I've got some time," she offered, and picked up her tool bag which contained her tools and laptop. 

"Follow me," Snape said cooly and turned on his heel. She followed him into an adjacent area where the classrooms were and down to a dimly lit dungeon. Cauldrons steamed, and there were bottles in racks of objects and substances she knew better than to ask about. 

"Where were you thinking of putting a computer?" she asked. He pointed to a desk of sorts. She opened up her toolbox and took out a small flashlight, and crawled underneath. No T1 jack. Shit. 

"Well, I'm afraid there isn't one. Is there one in the room anywhere?" 

"I think so. They wired all of the classrooms for that, but it just isn't in the right place. Is this it over here?" 

He had walked across the room now. She crawled out and identified it as the T1 jack. She plugged in her laptop to make sure it was active, and sure enough she could ping the network and the outside world. 

"I don't suppose there's a computer store in the neighborhood," Tara joked. Severus's expression didn't change, he just looked straight into her eyes and shook his head. 

"I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore then. See what we can conjure up...no pun intended." She couldn't resist needling him just a little bit, even though they were being civil. She gathered up her things. 

"When do you plan on getting a computer?" she asked. 

"As soon as I can. It'll be tough for the owls to carry but we'll manage." 

"I have an idea," she said, as the obvious came to her, "why not mail someone who is arriving here tomorrow on the train to bring computers and supplies?" 

For once, his expression brightened and Tara was sure he might crack a smile. He almost did. 

"I'll get right on that, with Professor Dumbledore. Will you come with me so I can intelligently tell him what we need?" 

"Of course," she said, and they went to Professor Dumbledore's office. Tara felt strange, and a little bit lightheaded. Her knees were doing that jello thing again and she did not know why, and her stomach felt like it was full of hummingbirds and butterflies, all flitting about. And it was so warm! 

"Is it always this hot this time of year?" she asked as Severus stopped in front of Dumbledore's closed office door. 

"Hot?" Snape asked, looking bewildered. 

"Hell yes. I am absolutely sweltering!" she said, fanning herself. Severus smiled inwardly, seeing that Tara's face was indeed flushed and wondered why. She didn't look feverish, but he saw a light in her eyes which made him even more intrigued by her, if not, attracted to her. He brushed that thought away quickly and knocked on the door. The door swung open and they stepped into Dumbledore's office. 

"Hello. What can I do for you two?" he asked them, and gestured for them to sit in two chairs before him. 

"Miss Hall needs to order some equipment. She came up with the brilliant idea that it can come on the train tomorrow," Snape said. His words were very complimentary, but he still had a cold edge to his voice. 

"Excellent. What do you need?" 

"Well, I need one of these machines and a way to put it on my desk in the dungeon," Snape began, and looked to Tara for guidance. Dumbledore shuffled in his desk drawer and produced a quill and paper. Tara took the quill and looked at it, puzzled. Dumbledore pushed an ink bottle towards her. Tara put the quill down and said, "I'm not practiced at a quill and ink, no offense," she said, digging a conventional ballpoint pen out of her fanny pack. She wrote down parts that were needed for doing the network connection, then stopped before she started listing components for Snape's computer. 

"PC or Mac?" she asked Snape. 

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, slowly and deliberately. 

"There are two kinds of computer platforms. You might have noticed the differences - there are 3 of each in the Slytherin house." 

"What's the difference?" he asked. 

"Well, a Mac is much easier to use if you are a newbie. Albus here has a Mac." 

"Newbie?" both Albus and Snape quipped. 

Tara grinned. "Computer muggle..." Dumbledore broke into a grin and Snape cleared his throat, so as not to lose his composure. 

"I think I can handle the more difficult variety," Snape said, looking at her, swallowing her in with his eyes. Tara felt her stomach doing the butterfly dance again and she swallowed hard and cleared her throat. 

"Okay, we'll get you parts for a PC and I'll put it together for you," she said, "I like to stick away from brand name PCs, it's much better to build them myself." 

"You're the expert," Snape told her with a wave of his hand, which enraged her. She wanted to say something, but didn't. 

She finished up her list and handed it to Albus. "I hope you can read my scrawling, I tried to be neat," she said. He read the list off to her and it was fine. She rose from her seat, grabbing her tool bag. 

"Oh Tara, are you coming with us this evening?" Albus asked. 

"Coming with you? Who? Where?" 

Snape shot a dark look at Albus. "It's allright, Severus. It'll help her become acquainted with the community. Now, tonight, being the last night without students here on the grounds, it has become somewhat of a tradition to go to a pub called The Three Broomsticks. I trust the potion to make us feel okay in the morning has been brewed, Severus?" Snape nodded and looked disdainfully at Tara. 

"Does it work on muggles?" she asked. 

Dumbledore looked to Snape expectantly. Snape made a face. "I suppose I can make a muggle version of this for our young muggle computer wizard," he said, with a degree of reluctance. 

Dumbledore grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Good! We will be leaving shortly after dinner. We travel by floo powder usually, but so it doesn't wear you out, I'll arrange for you to ride with someone on a broom." 

"On a broom?" 

"There's nothing to it. It's much safer than muggle air travel. Just a bit chilly is all." 

"So you might want to wear something beneath your robe," Snape said, slowly, with a hint of something in his voice that Tara couldn't put a finger on. She shivered, but it was a warm shiver, and fanned herself. 

"It's so hot in here. Allright, I'm going to go double check the Gryffandor computers and I think I'm finished for the day. See you both at dinner." 

Dumbledore and Snape bade her a good afternoon, and she closed the door behind her. 

"You two seem to be getting along a bit better," Albus mused. Snape scowled. 

"She can be very trying," he commented. 

"Yes, she can. But then, so can you!" Albus said, leaning forward. Snape rose. 

"I'd better get back to the dungeon to make the muggle hangover antidote." 

"Good afternoon, Severus." 

"Good afternoon." 

As Snape closed the door, Albus couldn't help but chuckle about the two of them. They were so opposite but they were so funny together. There was a tension between them and it was obvious to him and everyone around them what was going on. Obvious to everyone but Tara and Severus. 

Chapter 6: The Night at the Pub 


	6. Chapter 6: A Night at the Pub

**

Chapter 6

**

That evening, Tara dressed in the jade green cape and wore it right over jeans and a t shirt. She also layered a long sleeved t shirt for her cold ride on a broomstick. She packed her digital camera into her fanny pack, which she wore outside her robe. It looked funny, but she didn't have any other way to carry her necessities. 

Madame Hooch had agreed to take Tara on broomstick. She was the flight instructor and more than capable. As Tara stood behind Madame Hooch, who was straddling the broomstick, still on the ground, she asked, "Are you afraid of heights?" 

"Yes." 

"Well, don't look down then. Just hang on and you'll be fine!" 

Tara felt queasy then. Next thing she knew, Madame Hooch had said "Up" and had the broomstick in her hand. 

"Okay, on 3, we'll both give a push and up we'll go. Ready? 1-2-3!" They both kicked away from the ground and Tara shut her eyes tightly and buried her face in the back of Madame Hooch's cloak. The air was blasting past them, and Tara was glad she had dressed warm. 

"You all right back there?" Madame Hooch asked. 

"I think so. My eyes are closed." 

"Well that's fine, we'll be there in no time." 

She was right, it wasn't too bad. They came to a landing and Tara's feet hit the ground and she found herself off balance and fell over. She got all tangled up in her cloak and the hood was way down over her face. 

"Did she faint again?" Tara heard a familiar voice ask. 

"No, I don't think so, she just fell over," Madame Hooch answered, "you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I haven't even had anything to drink yet and I'm already falling all over myself." A hand grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet, and she untangled her robe and got her hood off to find herself face to face with her favorite man. Again. 

"We've got to stop meeting like this," she quipped and frowned at him. She snatched her hand away from him and dusted herself off. Her right knee was killing her and she saw that she had gone right through her jeans and had skinned it. "Dammit! I'm bleeding!" she cursed. 

A hand held out a small bottle and a gauze pad. Snape again. 

"What are you, a walking first aid kit?" she asked, taking the bottle and gauze pad. He shrugged. 

"When I heard you were going to fly here, I took the liberty of being prepared." 

She sponged the wound and jumped up and down when it stung and cursed some more, using some of her choicest swear words, then apologized. 

"Sorry, that stung like shit." She handed the bottle back to Snape and pocketed the pad. That would be gross to give even to him. She felt a strange sensation where she had applied the salve and looked at her knee, which was healing right before her eyes. She was stunned! The pain was dissipating and she sat there with her mouth open. She looked at Snape, and he actually smiled slightly. Muggles were so amusing. 

"Whoa! Hey thanks!" she said, "this is amazing stuff!" 

"I brewed it myself. Once the students get to school, we need a constant supply. They are always falling down and cutting themselves, particularly the first year's. I made this one for you - muggle strength. So here, you keep it," he said, handing the bottle back to her and closing his hand over hers. Again the weak knees, and a flash of heat went through her entire body. She looked at him, swallowing hard, then Madame Hooch took her arm and said "let's go drink some alcohol!" 

By then, other faculty members had arrived, including Dumbledore and Minerva. They entered the pub and Hagrid waved to them from a back table. He had reserved a large table where they could all sit. 

"Miss Hall, I'm so glad you could join us! Nice to have a muggle amongst us!" he said with a wide grin. 

"Thanks. Please call me Tara, all of my friends call me Tara," she said, flashing a dark look in Snape's direction. He met her look with one of his own. 

"So what will we all drink then?" Hagrid asked, "Tara, you order first." 

"I don't suppose I could get some California Chardonnay here..." she began, and there was a flash and a wonderful goblet of golden liquid appeared before her. 

"Think again!" 

Each drink materialized in front of them as they ordered, and they sat around talking, and performing little acts of magic around the table, which fascinated Tara. 

"Do you think any of this will rub off on me?" she asked, watching Dumbledore make his stein rise off the table and circle them slowly. 

"Stranger things have happened," Minerva said. "But you do magic with those contraptions you're setting up," she commented. 

Three glasses of wine later, Tara was teaching Hagrid some rock and roll songs and they were singing. He had heard some of them. Hagrid was a lot of fun; Tara adored him. Everyone seemed to be having a very good time and had loosened up. Well, all except a certain man who kept staring at Tara all evening. She had excused herself to go have a smoke; she didn't like smoking around people who didn't since it was rather offensive. She was by the bar when a man walked up to her and smiled. 

"Hello there, you must be Tara Hall," he said. He had golden hair and green eyes from what she could see. He looked about 40ish, was ruggedly handsome, and a little taller than she, and lean. 

"Yes, how did you know?" she asked. 

"Well we all have heard that Hogwart's is getting computerized, and that an American Muggle was coming in. I'm Seth Taylor, and it's nice to meet you," he said, extending a hand. She took his hand and squeezed it. 

"Are you a--a wizard?" she asked very softly so no one else would hear." 

"Oh yes, we all are here." 

The two of them were deep in conversation and she found him refreshing and kind. She felt something, someone watching her and looked across the room to see good old Severus, staring at her intensely. Was that anger she saw? She shot him a questioning look, and then he looked away. Seth noticed and turned to see who she was looking at. 

"Ah, Professor Severus Snape. Intimidating old git, isn't he?" 

"Yeah rather. A pain in the ass ever since I laid eyes on him," she said, and put out her cigarette. She looked over at him again. "He's not really old, is he?" 

"No, I think he's about 41 or so...but he looks old maybe because he's so gloomy all the time--plus he spends so much time in his damned dungeon, it sort of sallows his complexion, if you ask me." Seth frowned, remembering his school days. "He was in his last year when I started at Hogwarts. Always giving us Gryffandors a bad time...I'll put it this way. He is an very complex person ." 

Tara didn't ask him to elaborate, but was surprised that she and Snape were so close in age. He was only 2 years her senior if Seth was correct. Thinking of Snape made her remember what she had to do the next day and sighed heavily, as if a dark cloud had passed in front of the sun on an otherwise beautiful day. "Oh shit. I have to put a computer network connection in that damned dungeon tomorrow. And build his computer. Pardon my language..." 

"It's okay," Seth said, finding this American muggle fascinating, "may I buy you a drink?" 

Tara felt like a school girl. "Well, sure. I guess...I'm drinking California Chardonnay," she said, and with a flash, a glass appeared in front of her. The two spent a bit more time talking, then Minerva signaled her it was time to go. 

"Well, the students are arriving tomorrow, so I must be going. It was nice to chat with you," Tara said, extending her hand. He took it and squeezed it between his hands. 

"May I see you again?" he asked. 

"I think so. You know where to find me," she said, and smiled. 

"Yes. Well, good night, Tara." 

"Good night." 

Tara strode back to her group, humming happily. Madame Hooch squeezed her arm. "Who was that hottie?" she asked Tara. "His name is Seth. I think he knows the Professor, here," she said motioning towards Snape, "but then I have a feeling that who doesn't," she smirked, which made Snape send her daggers. 

Tara was sleepy on the ride back, and she had to concentrate to stay awake to hang on. The last thing she wanted was to fall off the broomstick. When she returned to her quarters, she changed, and drank a whole bunch of water, and had just slipped into bed when there was a knock at her door. 

"Who is it?" she asked, wearily. 

"Professor Snape." 

"Why? It's late!" she protested. 

"I have your remedy, but if you'd rather feel terrible in the morning..." 

She had forgotten! She jumped out of bed and put on her terrycloth robe and padded to the door. She found him standing there, sleepily, holding out a steaming mug to her. 

"Thank you," she said, taking it. It was very hot and burned her lips, "I'm going to have to let this cool down a bit. It's a bit too hot for me - I'm a real whuss when it comes to hot drinks--" Snape sighed impatiently, took out a wand and waved it at the mug. Tara looked from him to the mug curiously. 

"Try it now," he said with no expression. 

She did and it was the perfect temperature. 

"Wow, that's handy. Do you want to come in or did you drink your stuff already?" 

He shook his head. "I didn't really partake; I tend not to. Looks like you had a good time though, with a certain young man..." 

Tara flushed crimson, and downed the rest of the potion, anxious to get rid of Snape and go to sleep. 

"How will I know if this stuff works?" she asked. 

"You'll know in the morning. Trust me." 

Trust him? Yeah right. Easier to trust a wolf in a hen house. She handed the empty mug back to him. 

"Good evening, Professor Snape." 

"Good evening, Miss Hall." 

She shut the door and went off to bed. God he annoyed her. Now he is giving her a time about meeting a young man? Hell, I'm young, I'm in a strange new place, meeting lots of strange new people, and he was refreshing. What is Snape's problem? 

She fell asleep and had restless dreams... 


	7. Chapter 7: Snape enters Cyberspace

**

Chapter 7

**

Tara woke up after a night of fitful dreams to the sun streaming in through her window. She felt strangely refreshed; the potion had done its job. She bounced out of bed and got herself ready. Today was the big day, when the students arrived. 

She and Hagrid took off for the train station right after Lunch, then rowed across the lake and journeyed to the station. Soon, they could hear the Hogwart's Express in the distance. Tara got her camera out and got up on the cat walk to take pictures. 

Soon the train pulled into the station, and the students, all clad in robes, spilled out. Hagrid beckoned for the first year students to follow him, and they all went to get in boats to row back to the castle as the night fell upon them. 

Tara had purposely dressed in robes so she wouldn't be stared at by all of the young charges making their way back to school. She took many pictures and Hagrid explained who she was and why she was taking pictures. 

Once back at the castle, Tara photographed the sorting, and the banquet. It was quite a job and she was glad she brought extra media cards with her. After everyone was sorted, Dumbledore took a few minutes to go over the rules and announced the creation of their web site and introduced Tara. Then, the feast began. 

Tara was astounded at the amount of food. "It's a good thing it's 10 flights of stairs to my room or I'd be fat as a pig!" she commented to Madame Hooch, and dug into her dinner. There was a flash and a goblet of golden liquid appeared before her. Where did that come from? She hadn't asked. She looked around and found Severus Snape's gaze boring into her. He raised his goblet to her. She could hardly swallow, and raised her glass to him too, shocked that he would make a nice gesture like that towards her. He sure was an odd bird. 

"What's with that guy?" she asked, turning to Madame Hooch. 

"Who?" 

"Snape! He just got me this wine," she said. Madame Hooch giggled, and so did Minerva. 

"I think Snape's smitten," Minerva commented. 

"Oh puh-LEEZE!" She shuddered and Minerva and Madame Hooch laughed like teenaged girls, while Tara frowned. She took another sip of her wine. It was quite good, actually, and she looked over the brim of her goblet at Snape, who was concentrating on his salad. He looked at her again and she quickly looked away, feeling all gooey inside again. 

The next day was the first day of classes, and Tara laid low in her office, getting together the photos she had taken. She had 4 media cards crammed full and was putting them on her image server. Next, she began assembling Snape's PC for him. A chime went off indicating she had received an instant message. She didn't know who it was; whoever it was wasn't on her list. 

"Hello, Miss Hall," the message said. 

"Hi. Who is this?" she typed back. The screen name just said sspm which meant nothing to her. 

"I think you know, don't you?" 

Now she became irked. "No, I don't. And if you don't stop bugging me, I'll put you on my ignore list. At least do me the courtesy of identifying yourself, or it's good bye," she typed, furiously. 

A message came back up a few moments later. "You're as feisty via communicating this way as you are in person. Good day, Miss Hall." 

She knew who it was now. "I see you are getting the hang of instant messaging. What computer are you on? I'm just building yours now." 

"I have one in my office. I figured out how to put this instant message thing on all by myself. Not bad for a computer muggle, wouldn't you say?" 

She could almost hear him say the words in his cool but deliberate way, and she shivered. 

"Yes, I'm impressed. I ought to have your computer done by about 3. When do you want me to fix up your network connection and hook it all up?" 

"I have no classes after 4 PM today." 

"Okay I'll come down there. Have fun with your instant messages." 

A little after 4, she loaded everything on a cart and made her way down to the dungeon, which was no easy task. She cursed, wishing for an elevator as she parked the cart and carried each piece down. She arrived in the dungeon, sweaty and a little out of breath. 

"Perhaps you should stop that nasty muggle smoking habit of yours, and you wouldn't get out of breath so easily," she heard the moody potions master quip. Where was he? She spotted him sitting at the desk in the corner. 

"Yeah, yeah yeah. Well I'll get this started here. First of all, I'll hook up your computer so you can get a feel for what's on it while I get your connection taken care of." 

"As you wish, you're the expert after all..." he said in a condescending tone. 

"Would you knock it off with the attitude?" she burst. "I mean, shit. I didn't come from half a world away to be verbally and emotionaanlly abused by some scary lookin' dude who works in a dungeon 24/7!" Oh now she had done it...she cringed, hoping he wasn't going to turn her into a desk lamp or maybe a chair. 

Snape was taken aback by her outburst, but wondered why she was visibly bracing herself. 

"I'm sorry, Miss Hall. What--what is the matter?" 

"You're not going to turn me into a lamp or anything are you?" she asked, opening one eye to look at him. He actually chuckled. 

"No, I wouldn't do that," he said, amused again by muggles and at how ignorant they could be. 

"You sure?" 

"I'm sure." 

"Okay. I--I'm sorry I went off on you like that...I--" 

He cut her off, "I fear I had it coming. I apologize." 

"Thanks -- so do I --" 

"No need. Now, what do you need me to do?" 

She determined the best layout for his computer on his desk and set it up for him, then turned it on. Everything was in working order; she had already tested it. 

"You put this together yourself?" he asked. 

"Yeah. I do it all the time. If it starts f---I mean screwing up, let me know and I'll come hit it with a sledge hammer." He looked alarmed. "Not really. Just a figure of speech. Now, here's your word processing program, a spreadsheet, a database, and I'll have your Internet going in a few minutes. Okay?" 

"That's fine," he said and inhaled deeply. Her nearness to him brought feelings he hadn't felt in years, and he inhaled her sweet, slightly musky scent. 

"Something wrong?" she asked him, hearing do a deep intake of air. 

"No, not at all." What is wrong with me? he thought to himself, scowling. 

"Okay. Well if you have any questions, ask." 

She got out her tools and a 50 foot cat 5 cable, and ran it along the base of the wall and taped it with duct tape. She didn't know how else to do it since the walls and floors were all stone. She finally reached the CPU and plugged the other end of the cat 5 into the ethernet card. The green light came on and flickered with activity. 

"Can I drive for a moment?" she asked Snape, coming to his side. 

"Of course," he said, standing up and offering her his chair. She sat down, hit start and run, and pinged the network. 

"What does that do?" he asked, watching her hands expertly fly on the keyboard, issuing commands. 

"That is called pinging. It means I am sending out a pulse to the network to see if this computer is communicating. It is--you see the replies there? Now I'll ping an ip address on the Internet - my server back in the USA to be exact," she said and typed ping followed by some numbers. The replies came back, pulsing. 

"Do you mean to tell me that is coming all the way from the USA?" Snape asked, amazed at the concept. 

"That's what I mean, allright. Not bad for muggle technology, eh, Snape? Excuse me, Professor Snape?" 

He made a face that she couldn't see. "Not bad at all," he agreed, not without a bit of reluctance. He again leaned close and again inhaled her fresh scent. What was going on with him? He stood back again. With a muggle? And an exasperating one at that? 

"Tara?" a voice called from the door. Both Tara and Severus looked up to see the man from the pub - Seth. 

"Hi! Seth, is it?" Tara asked, her smile lighting the dungeon. 

"Yes. Professor McGonagall said I would find you here. Good afternoon, Professor Snape," he said respectfully. 

"Good afternoon. Weren't you a first year when I was in my last year here?" 

"Yes." 

"I remember. You were a Gryffandor," he said with an overtone of smugness. "I think I have everything I need. Thank you," Snape said, dismissing her. 

"You sure?" 

"Quite. Good afternoon." 

She gathered up her tools and went to walk with Seth. Severus watched the two walk out the door and felt a confusing array of emotions. He couldn't let himself fall for her. She was a muggle--a very challenging American Muggle, in fact. That was enough said. 

"Can I take you to dinner?" Seth was asking Tara. 

"Well, I think so. I'm pretty much done for the day. I got the pain in the butt over with," she said motioning to the dungeon. 

"He's not _that_ bad," Seth began. 

"Speak for yourself. We just constantly rub each other the wrong way is all. Oh well, everywhere I've ever worked, I've encountered at least one person like that." 

The two went out to dinner, and Minerva and Albus couldn't help but notice how annoyed Snape looked at Tara's empty chair at the banquet table. 

"What do you suppose he's thinking?" Minerva asked Albus. 

"I don't know but I have my feeling about it," he replied. 

"If I didn't know better, I'd say he is taken with our young muggle computer wizard. Hooch and I were joking about it last night. But then again, I know better. This is Severus we're talking about." 

"He's a tough nut to crack," Albus agreed. 

"I'll say!" 

Tara arrived back at the castle just before midnight. She was walking up the steps, humming a little song and was greeted by Henry and Heidi. "Waiting up for your mum?" she asked. She had started adopting some of the British jargon; how could she not. The cats followed her happily to her room, where she readied herself for bed. She decided to check e-mail before retiring, and had the usual messages of things to do for the site from Dumbledore and the Web Committee which was forming amongst the students. She was replying to one of them when an instant message interrupted her. Snape. 

"Hello there. We missed you at dinner. I trust you had a pleasant evening." 

She made a face and typed back. "Hi Professor Snape. Yes, I had a nice time. But I have lots to do and I'm trying to answer an onslaught of e-mails right now. Do you have a question with your new computer or something else I can help you with?" 

"No, I just wanted to say hello and make sure you are safe." 

Make sure I'm safe? This guy was way over the edge. She didn't know whether he was being sarcastic or nice. 

"I'm fine. Why do you think I wouldn't be?" 

"Your fall off the broomstick the other night." 

"Oh, that. Well thank you for your concern, but I am fine and unscathed. Good night, Professor." 

"Good night." 

She finished up her e-mail and went to bed. She dreamed that night but did not dream of her new friend, Seth. She dreamed of Severus Snape and did not understand why. 


	8. Chapter 8: Moonlight Sonata

**

Chapter 8

**

The term wore on, and Tara found herself enjoying her work immensely. A few scrapes with Snape occurred now and then, but she enjoyed taunting him, and brushed away her fascination with him and concentrated on her friend, Seth. They were seeing each other fairly regularly and she was becoming quite accustomed to riding behind him on his broomstick. 

She got to see her first Quidditch game and was fascinated--and hooked. She wished she could play, but as a muggle, it simply wasn't possible to fly on her own. 

One day when she and Minerva were walking through the castle, a door that hadn't been open before was, and Tara saw a piano inside. She stopped and gasped. "A piano!!!!!" 

"Yes, it's been here for years," Minerva said, and followed Tara inside. Tara sat down at the piano, and struck a chord. 

"No one has played it in years," Minerva told her. 

"How is it that it is in perfect tune then? Oh wait, don't tell me. Magic." 

"You're really catching on. Do you play?" 

"Yes, it's been a while, not since before I came here. I have a piano at home and like to unwind with a glass of wine and some music," she said, and started a classical piece. Minerva listened, impressed, then Tara hit a wrong note and cursed. 

"Go on, keep playing!" 

"Naw, I'm a tad rusty. But would it be possible for me to have access to this room so I can unwind a bit at night sometimes?" 

"Of course. I'll see to it that Dumbledore gives you a key." 

The key came later that day and Tara purchased downloaded sheet music from the Internet. It was about 11 PM when she took a nice bottle of wine from her small refrigerator, a glass, an armload of sheet music, and, clad in her dressing gown, she headed downstairs to play. It was hard to carry the lantern, but she managed. She opened the door, set her things down, and lit the candles on the wall. She couldn't wait to play! 

She poured herself a full glass of Chardonnay and began with scales to warm up her hands. It was a bit chilly in the room; there was a fireplace but she didn't have the magic to light it the way her magical friends did. No kindling either for a muggle to use, so she had to warm her hands with her breath. 

She went through all of the pieces she knew and had brought with her, then started working on Moonlight Sonata. She loved that piece and it somehow reminded her of something...something deep in her soul and she didn't know what. 

She returned to bed a few hours later, happy with her experience. It felt good to get away from the computer for a while and concentrate on something different. This quickly became her night time ritual, unless she and Seth had gone out; then she would just return to bed since it was often past midnight when she would return. He was nice to be with and made her feel good. But there was no spark which saddened her, but oh well, she was only dating and having fun. 

One night, she was playing Moonlight Sonata, and feeling the passion that was personified by the moody music. She felt herself get lost in it, as it went to a minor key and then resolved again. It had taken her a few weeks of constantly practicing passages to get the notes correct; it was a good thing she had long fingers because this piece definitely required her entire span of reach, which was 10 keys. She was feeling the music and knew it by heart now, and had closed her eyes, and reached the final notes, and just froze, with her eyes closed. She had a lump in her throat and swiped her eyes. 

"Miss Hall, I had no idea you were so ... multi-faceted," an all too familiar voice purred. Oh SHIT what is HE doing here? Tara gathered her robe tightly around her and tightened her sash to make sure she wasn't showing cleavage, and turned slowly. 

Severus Snape was there, just inside the door. She hadn't even heard him come in. She poured herself another glass of wine and he sat down on the bench beside her, the only place to sit in the small room. It must have been the wine because she suddenly felt very dizzy. The heat seemed to have gone up 10 degrees, although the fireplace was still cold. 

"Go on, play some more," he encouraged her. She said not a word, just looked at him with wide eyes. He nodded to her, as if to say, "it's okay." She stumbled for a moment mentally, then played another song that stirred passion in her - Nocturne in E Flat Major by Chopin. She didn't know the full version of this piece; she had an intermediate version but had modified it to include some of the parts of the 'hard version' that she _could_ play. She tried to forget he was there, but she could feel the warmth from his body, even though he was a cold person. She closed her eyes and played, and transported her self to her special place, far away from this castle, computers, and this guy who made her nervous...but lately he wasn't making her the same _kind_ of nervous...she finished the piece and made hardly any mistakes. Each time she did, Severus noticed she would grimace. He found this enchanting, and was finding her rather enchanting, so much that it was getting difficult to avoid her; he didn't want to avoid her anymore. 

Finished with the piece, she opened her eyes and looked at him. 

"I hope I didn't wake you up or anything," she finally said. 

"You didn't; I was in the dungeon late, and was walking by and heard one of my favorite pieces of all time," he said, staring into her eyes. 

"Which one?" she stammered, finding her voice, which would only come out in a little croak. 

"That Beethoven piece....Moonlight Sonata is it?" he asked, pointing to the sheet music. He looked at it and shook his head. "I can't understand how you can make music out of these weird little symbols," he commented. 

"Well, I can't understand how you can make potions out of weird little ingredients that do things like heal knees and cure hangovers," she said softly, sensually. 

"It just takes practice," he said, as he leaned closer to her. 

"So does this..." she said, her voice trailing off. Oh my God, I've had WAY too much wine if I'm going to kiss this nasty old git, she thought to herself, when suddenly the door opened. Both turned, startled, to see Hagrid standing in the doorway. 

"Oh, I'm sorry to have interrupted you," he said, with a cough, meant to cover a laugh. "We've got problems again - there are students out of bed. We need everyone to go look for em'. I didn't mean to interrupt your, uh, time together--" Hagrid stammered. 

"I was just playing the piano and the Professor came in to listen. Come, let's look for them. Who is missing exactly?" Tara stood up and exchanged glances quickly with Snape. The heat had been turned off between them with the crisis at hand. 

"Okay I'll meet you out at the Quidditch field, we're all gathering there," Hagrid said, heading back out. Tara busied herself extinguishing candles in the small room, feeling Snape's eyes on her. Finally, she turned to him and opened the door to let him out. 

"Good evening, Professor Snape," she said simply. 

"Good evening, Miss Hall. We'd better go see what is going on." 

"Yes, we'd better," she said, locking the door behind them, and they headed out to take care of their students, who quite possibly could have been injured - or worse. 

Fortunately, neither was the case. A few in the Slytherin house had gotten one of the first years to go out to the forest on a dare. 

"I have to deal with this," Snape said to Dumbledore. 

"Yes. Good night, all," Dumbledore said, and he and the other faculty members started off towards their respective quarters. Tara remained behind for a moment, locking eyes with Snape. The heat was coming back up again. 

"I'd better...handle this situation," he said slowly. 

Tara nodded and turned to walk away. 

"You play magnificently, Miss Hall," he called after her. 

She stopped and turned around, flushing. "Thank you." She said, then turned again and walked away. He watched her walk into the darkness without him... 

Chapter 9: The Halloween Celebration 


	9. Chapter 9: The Halloween Celebration

**

Chapter 9

**

Tara returned to her quarters feeling flustered. She looked in the mirror and it looked like she had been in a wind storm. She brushed the strands of damp hair out of her face and noticed the blush in her cheeks. She looked almost feverish, and there was something about her eyes. Henry brushed her legs, and then slamming his muscular, feline body, he meowed at her. 

"Hey Henry, what's going on?" she asked him, reaching down to massage his shoulders. Henry loved a deep tissue massage; Tara was convinced he worked out at some sort of cat gym. Henry began sniffing her hand, investigating what she had been doing for the night. 

"What do you think of that Snape guy?" Tara asked him. Henry looked at her and said "yak," answering her. "Maybe I should ask Dumbledore to translate that..." she said, and sat down heavily on her bed, and rubbed her face in her hands. Had that really almost happened? What was up with that? She closed her eyes and pictured the scene again...she was at the piano, he was beside her facing the other way, and was it her imagination or did they almost kiss? She didn't think it was her imagination but maybe she was putting too much into this. Or maybe not. 

Maybe she had too much wine and wasn't remembering things accurately. It was certainly possible. She rose and got ready for bed and fell fast asleep. 

Morning came soon enough and she had a bit of a wine headache. She wished she had some of that hangover cure Snape had whipped up that one day...oh Snape. Blurry memories came forth again and she brushed them away, and got out of bed. She grabbed a Diet Pepsi and went to check her e-mail. A list of stuff to do from Dumbledore, a message from her mom that all was well and was she planning on coming for Thanksgiving, which was only 3 weeks away, and happy Halloween. Oh yes, it was Halloween, wasn't it? There was going to be a big celebration at Hogwart's and she was to be a part of it. She'd better get going... 

She felt pretty strange about the evening before and decided to avoid you-know-who as much as possible. She avoided eye contact at breakfast, and made her way outside for her morning smoke and didn't go to her normal alcove, just to make sure he didn't find her. He did anyway, but she hurried away, acting like she didn't see him. 

She went about her duties and had to speak to some of the classes. One student fired a zillion questions at her - all very intelligent ones. Her name was Hermione Granger, and she was a bit precocious but Tara could see that the girl was the brightest in her class. After class, she came to talk to Tara some more, and was fascinated by the world of computer and Internet technology. 

"You know, if I ever need a helper, would you be interested?" Tara asked. Hermione's eyes lit up and she smiled. "I would _love_ to help you! When could I learn more?" 

"Whenever you want. I'm pretty easy to find," she told her. Hermione smiled, then looked up, over Tara's head, and her smile disappeared. 

"I wouldn't agree with that." 

Tara turned around to find herself face to face with Snape. He looked a little bit less intimidating, at least for him, and he looked into Tara's eyes and she felt like lightening had just struck her. She turned back to Hermione. 

"I'll come talk to you later on, if that's okay," she said to Tara. 

"Sure. I'll make it fun." 

"I love to learn...." 

"I know, I can tell," Tara said, and reached out to squeeze the young girl's hand. They exchanged smiles, and Hermione gathered up her books and walked out to her next class. Tara turned back to Snape. 

"What's up?" Tara asked. 

"Just wondering how you are today, that's all." 

"I'm fine. A little hung over, but fine. Did you get that situation last night handled?" 

Snape made a face, "Yes, it cost the Slytherin House 50 points, but yes, I took care of the situation. I trust you will be at the feast tonight?" 

"Of course." 

He looked pleased, which was strange; he never seemed happy about anything to Tara. Always moody and brooding about everything. She wondered if she should suggest Prozac or if that worked on magical people. It certainly worked for her. "I will see you then," he said and turned, his cloak stirring up a breeze. A wave went over Tara then, and she didn't hear the young student who was behind her, saying her name. A tap on her shoulder brought her back, and she turned to find herself facing a boy with bright red hair. He had several siblings with the same red hair; the Weasleys. 

"Hi. Ron, right?" Tara asked. He nodded. 

"How can I get that e-mail thing?" he asked. 

"Ask me and I'll come and set it up and show you how to use it," Tara said. 

"Okay, can you come later on?" 

"I think I can arrange that." The boy smiled and thanked her. She was finding that she was a webmaster and a systems administrator all wrapped into 1. The IT person. Sigh. It was tough because if anything went wrong, she had to fix it immediately. Most was because the users were newbies, and were simply not used to using this technology. She made a mental note to talk to Dumbledore about teaching a class - perhaps after the winter holiday - a computer orientation course; something like Computers 101. It would certainly make her life easier! 

That night, she donned her favorite royal blue cloak and made her way to the banquet. To her delight, the hall had jack-o'lanterns floating in the air. She got her digital camera out and took many photos. The air was festive; it almost felt like Christmas. Seth joined her after the dinner. After the younger students went off to their dorms, the tables were cleared and there was dancing for the sixth and seventh year students and the faculty if they so chose. Minerva offered to take pictures so that Tara could dance a bit. She and Seth were dancing together to a slow song; Tara was never much for dancing. But it was great fun. They sat down and drank some ale that Hagrid had brewed in his house. It was quite good but strong! 

"May I have this next dance?" Tara looked up to see Snape extending his hand to her, his eyes blazing. Tara turned quickly to Seth who looked as surprised as she did. He nudged her and nodded. 

"Um, sure. I'll be back," she said, handing her mug to Seth. The song was a tango and Tara had no idea whatsoever how to dance to this. 

"I don't know how to tango, I don't really know how to dance at all--" she started. 

"Don't worry. Just follow my lead," Snape muttered, and suddenly, she was being spun, and her body strangely responded in ways she didn't know she was capable of. The other dancers cleared the floor and encircled them, cheering as Snape masterfully led her into a passionate tango. Tara was wide eyed and didn't understand how her body seemed to know what it was doing; it was as if she was just along for the ride. She was amazed at how her partner moved; but she knew he was agile just the way he would burst into rooms, but had no idea how graceful. He twirled and dipped her, spinning her body into his, and then spun her back out again. The dance ended with her being dipped low, parallel to the floor, their faces barely an inch apart. A sharp tingle went through her body as she felt his breath brush her face. She could smell his earthy, spicy scent, strangely reminiscent of cloves of all things, intermingled with other pleasant scents. Did he secretly have a penchant for clove cigarettes? Or perhaps mulled wine? Involuntarily, she inhaled deeply. Then he suddenly stood her up and everyone was wildly cheering. Tara clapped a hand over her mouth and looked at Snape who half smiled and nodded in approval. She searched the crowd for Seth who was looking a little uncomfortable, obviously forcing a smile, trying not to look angry. Uh oh. When wizards were mad at their girlfriends, did they turn them into things? 

The crowd cleared away and Snape led her back to sit with Seth. 

"Thank you. She's quite a dancer; you're a lucky man," Snape said, releasing Tara's hand. Seth mumbled an almost unintelligible thank you. Snape strode away and Tara was speechless. She felt like she was positively on fire and she fanned herself. What a workout! 

"You said you can't dance," he said, almost accusingly. 

"I can't! I couldn't do that again if I tried," she said and scowled. How in the hell had she done it? She always regarded herself with 'two left feet' as the expression goes. It was as if...oh do you suppose he could have..."Are there spells for such things?" she asked. 

"There are spells for practically everything," Seth said with a sigh. "He probably did put a spell on you so you could dance." The rest of the evening with Seth was more than a little awkward. Tara did her best to be nice despite how troubled she was feeling; the poor guy had come all the way from London to be with her that night, and she had ended up setting the crowd on fire by Tango-ing with Snape! She had several of the faculty members come up to her and tell her how fantastic the 'show' was and it was great to have a muggle around to show them their different art forms. Tara didn't bother to explain what had happened; that she had never danced a single step of a tango in her life. She wondered how Snape knew--but the answer came to her. The Internet. He had been spending a lot of time on the Internet, and it had information on just about anything in the muggle world, a mouse click away. And he was a fast learner. 

Minerva brought over her camera to her at the end of the evening. "I got some great shots of you and the Professor," she commented. "You two were magnificent!" Tara frowned. She'd have to delete those right away. Minerva leaned in close and clutched Tara's hand. "Is something going on between you two?" she dared. Tara shook her head, "No--he actually put a spell or something on me--I can't dance at all," she stammered. Minerva was about to say that Tara hadn't answered the question, but thought better or it. She just smiled and gave Tara a knowing look, and said goodnight. 

When Tara got back to her quarters, she downloaded the pictures to her computer. The pictures of the decorated hall and students came out great; her digital camera made her web work that much easier. Minerva did a good job at taking pictures; Tara had given her a 5 minute crash course in how to take photos, and she seemed to have a good eye for it. There was one shot of her dancing close with Seth, and Snape was in the background scowling at them. Then she came to the ones of the tango, which were incredible. Tara was surprised to see an obvious expression of sheer joy on her face in those pictures. Minerva must have figured out how to use the zoom because she got the a close up shot at the end of their dance where their noses were almost touching. The look on both of their faces was obvious passion. Oh my... 

"Damned ale..." Tara said, blaming Hagrid's potent ale. No, stop kidding yourself. It wasn't just the ale. She rubbed her face with her hands, then stood up. Time to go to bed, she told herself and began getting ready. She laid awake for hours, and grabbed a book on database administration. That usually put her out, but she could not sleep at all. She finally drifted off around 5 but since she had to be up by 6, it didn't do her much good. She thought about sending a message to Dumbledore that she was going to stay in that day, but she had made arrangements to start teaching Hermione how to troubleshoot a PC. She sighed and gave up, swinging her long legs out of bed. 

"Who needs sleep? Well you're never gonna get it. Who needs sleep? Tell me what's that for? Who needs sleep? Be happy with what you're getting-there's a guy who's been awake since the second world war..." she sang, quoting a Barenakedladies song. She moved her mouse to see the full screen shot of she and Snape from the night before. 

"What was that?" Tara jumped. Snape was standing in her room, still in what looked like what he had slept in. Black silk and a black robe drawn around him. 

"You could have knocked," Tara said, stepping in front of the monitor so he might not see what was on the screen. 

"I did. You were busy singing and didn't hear me, so I--" 

"Unlocked the door by magic. Okay. Kind of like when you made me dance last night?" 

Snape looked down at the floor for a moment. "Guilty. But it was fun, wasn't it?" 

"I didn't know you knew the meaning of the word," she said, forgetting about the picture on the computer. She took a Diet Pepsi out of the refrigerator, and sat down on her bed. She took a long pull from her soda and sighed. 

"How can you drink that this early in the day?" Snape asked, grimacing. 

"Some muggles like coffee. I never did. I like this. So what brings you here?" 

"Oh, I just wanted to thank you again for the dance..." his voice trailed off as he noticed the photo on Tara's computer screen. Tara turned and flushed crimson. Oh shit! 

"Nice," he said, his face expressionless, He looked into her eyes. 

"Um, well, I didn't get much sleep so I'd better get with it here..." 

"Why is that? Were you with your young man?" 

"Man, you are nosy aren't you? None of your business," she snapped, frowning at him. "I have to get showered and all of that." 

"I do too, I'll go now." 

"Don't let the door hit you in the _arse_ on the way out," she said, frustrated. 

He turned and shot her a dark look, then left, closing the door behind him. What could she do? He came in and she thought she had locked the door, but even if she had, he could still get in with his magic. Violation of privacy, big time. She wondered what could be done, but then dismissed it. He was pretty harmless...except when he put a dance spell on her...but that was rather fun...she had to admit. Fun in a dangerous way! 

Chapter 10 


	10. Chapter 10: What an Entrance

**

Chapter 10

**

"...so, I think it would be an important section in the Muggles Studies course. Don't you think so, Tara?" Albus was saying. 

Tara was off in her own world, staring into space, ignoring her breakfast. Madame Hooch nudged her. 

"Oh, uh what?" 

Dumbledore smiled. "Earth to Tara. Still tired from that wonderful performance last night?" he asked. Tara forced a smile and glanced at Snape who quickly looked away. 

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat the question?" 

"I was saying that in the light of all of the interest in these computers, I think a four week section can be added to Muggle Studies where you can teach about the usage of them." 

"I was going to suggest something like that. Maybe after the winter holiday?" Tara suggested. 

"Yes, that is good. Come up with a curriculum and we'll go over it." 

"Okay sounds good. Hermione Granger is learning to troubleshoot. She is very bright." 

"Yes, we know," Snape commented, and smirked. 

Tara stifled a yawn. She was afraid she was going to go to sleep in her omelette. Madame Hooch nudged her. "Late night?" she asked, winking. 

"Not in that way; I couldn't sleep," she told her friend in a hush, looking into her yellow, cat-like eyes. 

"Sounds intriguing," she commented. 

"Not really...just confusing. You want to meet for lunch? I think I need someone to talk to," Tara said. 

"Sure, I'm done with Flight Class about 11:30. Meet me in the field," she said. 

"Good deal." 

Tara somehow got through the morning and spent some time with Hermione Granger then rather than the afternoon. She didn't think she could last much past 2 PM or so without a nap. She met Madame Hooch and they went for a walk. It was misty and the threat of rain was very much with them. 

"So what's up?" Madame Hooch asked, adopting her muggle friend's American expression. 

"It's Snape. I don't know what to do about him," she said with a frown. Madame Hooch couldn't help but giggle. "Why, is he bothering you?" 

"No, well, yes. I can't figure him out." 

"Few of us have ever been able to." 

"I mean, you saw what he did last night!" Madame Hooch nodded and smiled. "I didn't know he had that in him, to be honest. You two were captivating!" 

"Well he bewitched me; I can't dance a step!" 

"Could have fooled all of us." 

"Apparently I did. He must have been on the Internet studying this dance. But the thing is, I am finding myself strangely attracted to him. It is the weirdest feeling. One minute I am ready to slap him upside the head and the next I find myself swooning like a teenaged girl in heat! At first I thought I was coming down with something, but it only happens when he's around." 

"What about your friend, Seth?" 

Tara shook her head. "He's really nice and I enjoy being with him, but there's no zing there. Do you know what I'm talking about?" Tara's friend nodded. "When I first laid eyes on Snape when he showed up in my living room with Dumbledore, I couldn't move. I couldn't figure out what it was; he was so chilling but so amazing at the first time. I know that now, but back then I just didn't know what the hell I was feeling. I haven't felt like this since I met my ex husband when I was 19! That feels like a hundred years ago though..." her voice trailed off, and she reached into her fanny pack for a cigarette, and lit it. 

"I've been avoiding him all morning. But do you know what he did--he showed up in my room this morning before 6. He said he knocked but I sure as hell didn't hear him. Next thing I knew, he was standing in my room in his PJs!" Madame Hooch clapped a hand over her mouth and started to laugh. 

"He wears pajamas?" she gasped. 

"Yes. Black silk ones from what I could see. He had a big black velvet robe tied around him, don't worry. But it was strange that he would walk all the way from his quarters to mine in his night clothes. He wasn't even wearing any shoes!" 

"Well he probably didn't exactly walk there," Madame Hooch reminded her. 

"Yeah, I keep forgetting where I am sometimes." 

"At least only his feet were bare," Madame Hooch teased, and laughed when she saw Tara turn crimson. She got embarrassed so easily and was fun to tease. 

"Yes, thank God for that. But how can I keep him out? I don't want him to come in if I'm having a private moment or something...not that I ever do, but still, what if he just let himself in when I was in a state of undress?" 

"Hmmm...let me think on that one. He shouldn't have just let himself in, I agree. You should speak to Dumbledore so he can reprimand him..." Tara shook her head and waved a hand. "No, I don't want to get him in trouble--unless he does it again. Then there will be hell to pay!" 

It helped Tara a great deal to talk to Madame Hooch, who she fondly referred to as "M". She regarded her as a good friend and a confidante. She was a bit younger than her feline-like friend and felt that M was a big sister in a lot of ways. When no one was looking, M reached for Tara's cigarette. "Oh hell, you don't want this," Tara said. "I just want to try it, is all. It smells good" She did so and coughed. "You're right, I don't want that. How can you stand it?" Tara shrugged. "I really must quit one day. I know I will, it's just a stupid nervous habit." 

It began to mist, and both of them moved quickly for shelter. Tara's robe had little droplets of mist on the outer layer but nothing penetrated--until a great downpour began. This time, both women ran for cover. Once under shelter, M took out her wand, and waved it towards Tara, who was instantly dry, then took care of herself. 

"Thanks. You people sure are handy to have around," Tara commented. 

"We try!" 

"Well I think I'm going to go take a nap. I feel much much better now," she told M, "thank you for listening to my heartsick ramblings." 

"No problem. That's what friends are for." 

They said their goodbyes and Tara dragged herself up the 10 flights of stairs to her chambers. Henry and Heidi were sacked out on her bed. She stripped down to her undies and socks. She was out as soon as her head hit the pillow, and slept a velvety black sleep devoid of dreams. 

Loud knocking jerked her awake. She tried to open her eyes and noticed the clock read 6:30. 

"Miss Hall, it's time for dinner, are you all right?" It was Snape, and he sounded annoyed (but then again, he always sounded annoyed). Tara pulled the covers up to cover her bare chest. 

"Yeah, I'm here. I was asleep! I'll be right down okay?" 

"Fine. We were concerned when you didn't show up and no one had seen you since lunch time." 

"I'm fine - just tired." 

She tumbled wearily of bed and quickly dressed, and threw on some slip on sandals so she didn't have to tie shoes. They had the logo of her favorite football team - the 49ers - on them. She opened the door and Snape was standing outside, and he startled her -- she gave a little scream. 

"I didn't mean to startle you," he said. 

"I thought you had gone downstairs." 

"I thought I'd pay you the courtesy of escorting you to dinner, albeit late." He held his arm out to her, and she took it. He eyed her 49er sandals and white socks. 

"Interesting choice of footwear," he purred. 

"It was something I could put on quickly." 

"What does the emblem mean?" 

"You don't know the 49ers? Man, you must work in a dungeon not to have heard of the 49ers!" she teased, and smiled up at him. She almost fell down when he actually smiled back at her. They walked down the stairs as she explained football to him. She was so intensely explaining things, that she didn't notice the stares they were getting from passers by. When they entered the hall, Minerva turned to see Snape, with Tara on his arm. "Well there's something you don't see every day," she said to Madame Hooch, who gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, "I think Severus is....oh he is! Oh! It's gone. He smiled!" 

A hush fell over the room as they made their entrance. 

Snape smirked. "Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer..." he said slowly, and Tara stared up at him in surprise. Was she rubbing off on him? He looked at her with a mischievous glance and then released her arm so they could take their places at the table. 

"I'm sorry I'm late. I overslept--I didn't get much sleep last night," she said, and she thought she heard several of the students snicker. Oh no. I bet the rumor mill is going crazy...she thought. 

"It's quite all right. We're all subject to a bit of insomnia around here from time to time," Dumbledore said with a wink. Tara felt her face grow hot and she knew she must be crimson again. M beamed at her. 

"Well you look like the cat who ate the canary," Tara commented, "no pun intended either!" M grinned and didn't say a word. 

The dinner proceeded without further incident, and Tara went outside afterwards for her after dinner smoke. Problem was, she didn't have her lighter. She checked fanny pack, and actually took everything out and set it on the railing. Nothing. Where was it? She must have dropped it when she and M had run out of the rain. Great. Where do you get a lighter at Hogwart's? 

"Allow me." Tara looked up to see Snape standing nearby with a wand. Allow him to what? Oh! He ignited her cigarette for her from where he stood. 

"Pretty neat trick," she said. "But I lost my lighter. Guess I have to knock this off. Been meaning to anyway," she said. She wondered if that was because he disapproved or she really wanted to quit. Right now she didn't know. But she did feel a need to appeal to him. 

"Are you going to play tonight?" he asked her. 

"Play?" 

"The piano." 

"Well, I think I might. It depends how tired I get. That sleepless night sort of knocked me on my butt," she told him. 

Just then a few students walked past them on the way back from the dorms. They had been chatting, then hushed as they spotted the two, then ran away laughing, and one of them said clearly "Snape's got a girlfriend!" Oh God, Tara thought, and finished her cigarette. 

"Look what you stirred up," she said absently. 

"No, look what _we_ stirred up!" he said reaching for her. He drew her close and then they heard more footsteps in the corridor, and he released her. 

"I think I'll go get my key and...go play the piano. I uh, left the key up in my room. Good evening," she said, looking up at him, hopeful he would come to see her. He was about to tell her he could open the door without a key for her, but though better of it. 

"Good evening." 

Tara was positively queasy and she felt her chicken picatta make a big roll in her stomach. She hoped she wouldn't get sick! She ran up the stairs this time and was so out of breath when she reached the top, that was it. She pitched her cigarettes into the toilet. All of them. She hoped the plumbing could take it, so she just emptied each pack, dropping them down into the swirling water. A knock at the door interrupted her. Who now? 

"Who is it?" she called. 

"It's Severus." 

Severus. We're on a first name basis now all of a sudden? "Come in, the door's not locked," she called, not that it mattered. He stepped inside and didn't see her. But he could hear the toilet flushing. 

"Come on in here," she called. Come into the bathroom? He cautiously strode towards the open door, and found her standing over the toilet, opening a pack of cigarettes. She flushed again, and dropped one at a time down the toilet. 

"May I ask what you're doing?" 

"Quitting smoking. I just ran up the stairs and I was so out of breath, screw this. I don't need it. Stinky, yucky habit that might kill me one day." 

He watched in quiet amusement as she continued, cursing under her breath with each toss into the toilet until all of the packages were crumpled up balls on the counter. She gathered them up and threw them in the waste can. 

"If you'll excuse me, I want to brush my teeth. Get the taste and smell out. Do you mind waiting outside or in the piano room?" 

"No, not at all," he said, walking out. 

"Hey, Sev!" she said, stopping him. Sev? He turned around, surprised realizing she had called him by a version of his first name. She tossed him a key. "That's the key. I'll be there in a few." 

He nodded. She had rendered him speechless. What an odd sort of person she was; always full of surprises. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe there was some magic in her that she didn't know about. Stranger things had happened; muggles had been raised muggle, then one day, something happened where they discover that they have powers they didn't know they happened. Why else would he be attracted to a muggle? He couldn't figure out why. 

He stopped in his quarters to pick up a bottle of wine he thought she might fancy, chose two goblets, then headed for the storage room where the piano was kept. He unlocked the door, and closed it behind him, then lit the candles. He also lit a fire; it was a bit chilly. Tara hadn't arrived yet. But then again, she had to walk down all of those stairs and he knew females to take a long time to get ready for things. He opened the wine and poured it into the goblets, and waited. 

He was plunking the piano a little bit just to see what it was like when the door opened behind him. He turned and actually sucked in air when he saw her removing her robe. 

Tara was dressed in a long, red, slinky dressing gown. Her arms were bare and the neckline of the gown revealed just a hint of cleavage. She smiled sensually. 

"I don't stink anymore," she said, simply, and he burst out laughing. "Of all the things to say..." he started, but couldn't stop laughing. She sat beside him, smiling up at him shyly. He positively lit up the room with his smile and she never knew. 

"You are the most delightful, but the most trying creature, Miss Hall! I haven't laughed like that in years!" 

"You should more often; it becomes you. You're always so dark and gloomy and moody," she said, deepening her voice animatedly, wrinkling her nose. 

"I guess I don't often have something to laugh about. But you--" he said, his index finger lightly tapping her nose, "are something else!" He then caressed her face with his hand and drew her close. He looked at her thoughtfully, caressing her face with the back of his hand, and then drew her closer to kiss her. 

Tara thought she was going to explode and take off like a rocket through the roof. She felt her spirit whirling and feelings she couldn't describe taking over her entire being. They parted and she sighed, dizzy. She actually was seeing little silvery spots in her field of vision. 

"Holy shit," she said, "Oh, excuse me. I have to apologize, I've never been kissed by a wizard, you know," she quipped. 

Severus handed her a goblet of wine. "What about your young gentleman friend?" She shook her head. "He never kissed me...I wouldn't let him! No big zing there. Not like..." she looked at him intensely to finish that thought. He understood. 

They sipped their wine and looked into each others' eyes. "I gather that if you don't want something, you make sure it doesn't happen," he commented. She nodded. "The gun helps..." she said, her voice trailing off, thinking of her .44 magnum upstairs. Snape choked then, in mid swallow and began coughing and laughing at the same time. 

"Oh my Sev. You do look so alluring with wine coming out of your nose," she teased. She reached for a tissue and handed it to him. He wiped his face and smiled again at her. What a fantastic face! 

"You have a _gun_, Miss Hall?" 

"Yes. And it's Tara." 

"Tara. You have a gun?" 

"I do. I live alone in the States, you know. I'm quite a markswoman. I got it for my own protection, and I brought it here with me. Not that it would do much good, I fear." 

"No, it wouldn't. But if it makes you feel more secure." 

"Yes, that it does." 

He drew her close again and then asked her to play. She played her usual repertoire, and then the Moonlight Sonata. But this time, it didn't make her hurt inside. Whatever was hurting when she heard and played this piece before was no longer in pain. She knew it must have to do with what had just transpired. 

They parted at her door that evening after midnight. She was simply exhausted. 

Curled up with her cats, Tara Hall slept the most peaceful sleep she had experienced in years...and dreamed of Severus... 


	11. Chapter 11: Trouble in Paradise

**

Chapter 11

**

The next morning, Tara woke up with a smile on her face. It was Friday, and she remembered the events of the night before, and felt a delicious tingle go through her body. She stretched, and Henry did too. She was glad she had such a large bed to sprawl out in with the cats. 

Bouncing out of bed, she grabbed a Diet Pepsi out of her little refrigerator, and checked her e-mail. A message from her mom and another from Dumbledore with her to do list for that day, which wasn't too bad for a change. 

She showered and dressed and heard a knock on the door. She went to the door in stockinged feet. She opened it and there was Severus. 

"Good morning, Tara," he said softly, a smile playing on his lips. 

"Good morning, Sev. I have to put my shoes on," she said, as he stepped inside behind her, and closed the door. 

"How did you sleep?" he asked. 

"Like I haven't for years!" she said, sighing happily. She pulled on one running shoe and tied it, then the other. Henry was doing a full windup around Severus's legs, meowing happily, and purring loudly. Heidi laid on the bed, looking up at him through almost closed, slitted eyelids, also purring. 

"They like you," Tara commented, then went to the armoire and tried to decide which robe to wear over her jeans and t shirt. 

"You look stunning in blue." Tara turned around and smiled, and chose the blue one, and put it on. 

"Now don't get the idea you're always going to get your way," she warned, fastening it around her. 

"I never said, it was just a suggestion." 

"I know, I know." 

She grabbed her fanny pack, then thought a moment. "I don't smoke anymore. I don't need to take this, unless I'm taking pictures...think think think...hang on!" 

She glided over to her computer to pull up her Palm Desktop software to check her schedule. No pictures were scheduled, but she did need to take her tool bag with her laptop in it. She grabbed it from its shelf and she was ready to go. 

"Okay, I'm ready." 

He extended his arm to her, and then pulled her close and kissed her. Her world began to sway slowly and she almost fell over when they separated. He caught her. 

"Are you okay?" he asked, touched by her reaction. 

"Like I said...a wizard's kiss is really an awful lot for a mere muggle to bear..." 

She opened the door, and they walked out, arm in arm, and right at that moment, Dumbledore happened by. He saw them both leaving her room and wondered what was going on. They hadn't seen him, so he just let it go and headed down to the hall himself, walking quietly, some distance behind them. 

It was obvious what the relationship was turning to, and Albus was pleased to see his potions master happy for a change. Young Tara obviously made him feel so. 

The students in the hall all hushed when the two walked in, smiling and talking. They had never seen Snape crack a smile - not ever. The pair split up to sit in their respective seats. M squeezed Tara's hand. 

"Is it true then?" she asked her. 

"Is what true?" 

"You and the Professor." 

"Yes, I guess it is," she said, and felt a flutter and looked over to find Severus looking at her, enchantedly. She smiled at him, and held his gaze with her own. 

Hagrid burst into the room, looking flustered. "Sorry I'm late, but we had a little plumbing problem this morning. Someone flushed a whole bunch of these rolled up paper things down the toilet and we had to run a--" 

"That'll keep, Rubeus. We are trying to eat breakfast here," Albus told him. 

Paper rolled up things? Oh no. Tara looked nervously over at Severus and he looked at her knowingly. She had plugged up the ancient plumbing with her smoke-ending toilet ritual. 

Dumbledore had begun speaking and the new Defense against the Dark Arts Instructor, Professor Chloe Perl, seated next to Snape had to elbow him. "Would you two get a room or something?" Chloe said in a whisper. Snape scowled and regained his composure. Tara cleared her throat. She felt like she was 12 years old with her first crush! Concentrate. Don't lose it. You're an adult. Act like one. She continued lecturing herself and managed to calm down and get through breakfast. But afterwards, she started to go outside and remembered no. She had given up her smoking. She gritted her teeth and wished she had one of those patch things. She went outside anyway to get some air. Severus followed her. 

Tara went outside to where she used to go to smoke and looked out over the railing and inhaled deeply. She was definitely edgy. 

"Tara, are you okay?" 

"Yeah. I am just jonesing for a smoke." 

"You're what?" 

"It's called withdrawal!" she snapped. "Oh shit, I'm sorry. I hope I don't become a colossal bitch. Sheesh...a colossal fat whale bitch..." 

"How so?" 

"Well, people who quit smoking typically gain weight and I'm not exactly svelte as it is," she said patting her midsection. "Thank heavens I get to wear lots of robes around this place! Nothing else may fit me in a few weeks!" 

"I don't like skinny females," he told her. 

"That's sweet of you to say," she said. He was holding both of her hands, and then leaned down to kiss her. "Your breath is nice and sweet now," he reminded her, and kissed her again. 

"Sev, someone might see us..." 

"Let them!" 

"Now that is very out of character for you. What did you do, make yourself some kind of potion?" she accused. He was taken aback, hurt. 

"Of course not! What do you take me for? Do you think that I am not capable of such feelings and actions all by myself? Do you think me some sort of heartless creature?" He was very angry with her and she felt her heart skip a few beats and a wave of fear and nausea go through her. 

"It's just - you went from this moody bastard - oh never mind. I'm sorry," she wailed, and walked quickly away from him. 

He was a little surprised at how hurt and angry he felt. Moody bastard? She had really gotten to him. Perhaps it was all a mistake, getting sweet on a muggle. Or anyone for that matter. 

"Trouble in paradise?" 

Snape turned to see Dumbledore, looking a little bit sad. 

"It's all a mistake. Muggles...She can be the most challenging--" 

"Severus, they all are. Muggle or not," Albus told him. 

Tara was running up the stairs now. She knew she was going to cry and had to get up to her room before anyone saw. Breathless, she opened the door and slammed it behind her and threw herself down on her bed, sobbing. She was so pissed off at herself, she had screwed up a delicate situation and now she felt like a fool. She wanted a cigarette really badly now but then remembered her toilet ceremony. She began cursing herself some more, realizing she was having a full fledged teenaged heartbreak tantrum, and had to get hold of herself. 

She had to get through this. At least they hadn't slept together; the relationship was basically only hours old. She slid off the bed and checked her e-mail, and began working on the design for the site. She had almost enough material. Then she closed all of her applications and there was her new wallpaper on her computer; the photo of the end of their dance. A lump rose in her throat and she wondered how she could be so upset with such a new relationship ending abruptly. The intensity. That had to be. 

Tara laid low all day. She even arranged for M to bring her dinner to her. She came in and found Tara lying in bed, with dark circles under her puffy eyes. 

"Oh Tara, what is the matter? We haven't seen you all day..." 

"I know. I fu---screwed up!" She told her what had happened. "So it's over as quickly as it started and it's all my fault, and I'm so stupid! I called him a moody bastard and I plugged up the plumbing!" she sobbed, as M took her in her arms. 

"Plugged up the plumbing?" 

"Yes. I quit smoking and flushed all of my cigarettes down the toilet," she sobbed. M couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "You won't tell anyone, will you? Only one person besides you knows....he was here..." 

"Oh, I see. Well your secret is safe with me, and I'm sure he won't say anything either." 

She comforted her friend, and then gestured towards the meal she had brought in. She had set it on the small table in Tara's sitting area. 

"I don't really think I can eat," she said. 

"You need to, otherwise you'll get sick. You don't want to do that, do you?" 

"No..." 

She sat down and frowned at the food she was supposed to eat. This wasn't going to happen, she could tell. She took a few bites of her salad but that was all. 

"Maybe I should stick this in the fridge' and eat it later," she said. 

"Okay well I'll leave it. You're sure you'll be all right?" 

"I'm fine." 

In his dungeon, Severus was working on a potion to demonstrate for the first years. Something simple, but challenging, but he couldn't concentrate. He got up and wandered by the storage room where Tara played the piano. There was no music or light coming out the window. He frowned, feeling empty. He shouldn't have gotten so upset with her, but she really riled him up, questioning his feelings. He hadn't realized how much he had exposed to her, and she really had struck a nerve with her doubt. He had no idea how to win her back, or if it had all just been a terrible mistake on his part. 

The days dragged on and one day Seth came looking for Tara. He found her installing software on some of the PCs in the Slytherin house. It was mid afternoon on a Wednesday, so the students were all in class, and Tara made sure Snape was too. 

"I haven't seen you in a long time," Seth said, entering the room. She looked up and forced a smile at him. "Yeah, I've been kind of busy is all," she said. 

"That's not what I heard." 

She frowned. "Does all of Europe know?" 

"Practically. Now we can still be friends, can't we? I'd like to take you to dinner. Cheer you up. I heard you've been holing up in your quarters every night and having your meals sent up there." 

"Well, yes...but I'm okay." 

"You won't have dinner with me?" 

Tara sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I don't know. I don't want to lead you on or anything." 

"You wouldn't be. I enjoy your company. Please say you'll come out with me?" 

"Well, if you're going to whine about it," she said with a small laugh. He smiled; he enjoyed her teasing. 

"If you want to go grab a drink at a pub first, are you almost done?" 

"Yeah, this is just about done--there it goes." She stood up and grabbed her tool bag, and they walked out together. She had to go up the stairs to her room to drop off her tool bag. It was much easier to get up the stairs now - she could breathe so much better and felt much better. She hadn't gained weight either; but then again, she wasn't exactly eating. She ate a tiny bit each day and if anything, she was losing weight. 

She opened up her door and locked it behind her, then ran right into Severus Snape, literally. "Oh God. Oops, gotta go," she said with a quick but frightened smile, and literally ran down the stairs from him. Where was she going in such a hurry? He had wanted to see if she could come and fix the computer in the dungeon, it suddenly couldn't get on the network, but she was gone in a flash. So much for that. He wondered where she was going and with whom. His question was soon answered when he saw Seth with Tara securely mounted on a broomstick fly past, and in the direction of London. He sighed, feeling a pang of remorse and jealousy. She's _his_ problem now, he told himself. 

He turned and went back down to his dungeon. To hell with her! 


	12. Chapter 12: Tara's trip home for Thanks...

**

Chapter 12

**

Tara decided to finally come down for breakfast after a couple of weeks of being noticeably absent. The Thanksgiving holiday (for her) was that week, and she had arranged to leave right after dinner that night to go to her mother's home, via floo powder. She needed a few days to sleep off the effects. 

The professors were clearly happy to see her. She dared to glance over at Snape, who gave her a dark look that should have turned her to dust on the spot. She swallowed hard, and went to sit down at her spot. She noticed a small jewel-like bottle next to her silverware, with a rolled up note. She took the note and read: 

_"I thought this might help you curb any symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Put 5 drops of it into your morning beverage every day until you no longer feel the withdrawal."_
  
  
"What's that?" M asked her, glancing over to read the note, that Tara held up to her. 

"Do you know who put this here?" she asked. 

"It's been there for a couple of weeks. But is there any question of where it came from?" M said, gesturing towards Snape's end of the table. Tara turned to him, and sure enough he was staring at her. 

"Should I trust him?" Tara asked, quickly turning to her friend, "what if there is something else in here?" 

"Nonsense. He's never been known to try to harm anyone." 

"Just makes them dance occasionally..." Tara said frowning. 

"Well, that wasn't harming you..." 

"No. But my heart is another matter..." she said, blinking back tears. When would she get over this? Severus looked at her and saw her wiping her eyes and it moved something deep inside him. Oh no, don't let your guard down, he told himself. It was enough that he had made the withdrawal potion for her as a gesture of kindness. He felt pleased when he saw her dispense the prescribed amount into her can of Diet Pepsi. He had read that withdrawal could go on for months, and he was prepared to make more of the potion. 

Right after she dropped it in, small sparks rose from the hole in the can and did kind of an inch high fireworks show in the air above it, then dissipated. "Whoa! That was cool!" Severus was pleased with her reaction. He knew she'd appreciate the extra flare he had put in, and had put that in just to see her smile. 

After breakfast, she slipped out the door and Severus was quick to follow her. She turned around, knowing he was behind her. "Hey, thanks for this potion. It's getting better, but it's still hard sometimes," she said. He looked into her eyes and nodded. "It is difficult, isn't it?" he said, meaning something completely different. Tara looked away, blinking back tears once again. "I have to go," she told him. "I'm going to my mom's for Thanksgiving. It's an American holiday that's this Thursday. I have to leave tonight so I can recover from the floo powder," she explained. 

"When will you be back?" he asked, then wondered why he cared. 

"I'll be back Saturday and sleeping until Monday. I have to get back to work, after all. So just long enough for my mom to start asking me why I'm not married or seeing anyone. So, I could be back Friday, for that matter!" Severus was amused by this. Then he noticed that Tara had lost a considerable amount of weight. "You look awfully gaunt. Are you eating?" he asked. "Yeah, some. I was supposed to gain weight. So much for that theory. Well, I have to go." She was feeling increasingly uneasy around him, and wished she could vanish into thin air, but even if she was able to, it wasn't allowed on the grounds. 

She bade him a farewell, and went back to what needed to be done in preparation for her trip. Just before she was to leave, she knocked on Albus Dumbledore's office door. The door swung open and she entered. 

"Tara, are you ready to head to your mother's?" 

"As ready as I can be. I have my preliminary outline for the computer course portion of Muggle Studies," she said, handing him a folder. He sifted through it. It was neatly organized and easy to read with major points in bold, and not too wordy. 

"Straight and to the point. I wish all of my staff wrote their outlines as concisely as you do. Some of them go into every last little detail - it isn't necessary in these outlines," he said, a little flustered. 

"Well let me know what you think, what should be changed, and all of that. I'll be back Friday or Saturday but the floo powder makes me sleep for a couple of days as you know..." 

"Yes. Well, have a safe journey and let us know when you're back amongst us - awake." 

"Thank you, Professor," she said turning to leave. 

"Uh, Tara...sit down for a moment." 

She turned again, and sat in the large chair in front of his desk. 

"You and Professor Snape - is everything okay there?" 

"Well, no. I mean, we started sort of seeing each other but it ended really quickly..." her eyes filled with tears and Dumbledore handed her a tissue. She blew her nose, the tears running down her face. 

"Oh my, you really care for him, don't you?" Tara made a face. "Yes, and I don't know why. He's an impossible, dark, moody --" she paused, but there was no other way to put it, "Bastard..." Albus couldn't help but smiling at that. "Yes, he can be, but for a moment with you, he wasn't." 

"I guess not..." 

"Well, if you need any help preparing for your journey - or you want someone to accompany you each way to make sure you get where you are going - let me know." 

"That might be good. How about M--" 

"M? Oh, you mean Madame Hooch? Perfect. She has already expressed concern of you going so far and she'll take care of you." 

"Oh good. I sure like her." 

After dinner that night, M assured Tara that Heidi and Henry would be taken care of while she was away, and they went to the fireplace in Tara's quarters. The trip made Tara scream; it had been a few months since she had used floo powder. It was like a violent roller coaster ride and although it was better than flying in an airplane, it was still rather scary. Finally, they rolled out onto the floor in her mother's living room. It was early in the morning there and the room was dark. Tara's mother heard the commotion and came out to greet them. 

"Hi mom, I made it! This is my friend, Madame Hooch. I call her "M". She came to make sure I got through okay." 

"Pleased to meet you..." Tara's mother, Joan, said, eyeing M's feline features. 

"Send us word when you are ready for the journey back," she said, "pleased to meet you, ma'am. I really must get back. We have a big Quidditch practice in the morning." With that, she threw a handful of floo powder in the fireplace, and was gone. 

"She looks like a cat!" Joan gasped. "Yes, I know. She's my best friend over there. She teaches flying and coaches Quidditch, that cool game I e-mailed you about" 

"The one where they fly on broomsticks?" Tara nodded. "That's the one." Then a wave of sleepiness washed over her. Tara was feeling the exhaustion setting in. "Well, this fireplace travel makes me sleep for days, so I must go to sleep before I just fall right here. I probably won't wake up until Thursday morning." 

"Yes, that's what you said," Joan said, accompanying her daughter to the guest room. She put her bags down and said goodnight to her mother, then closed the door and collapsed onto the bed without even being able to change her clothes... 

Tara's nose was being treated to a familiar scent. Food. Oh, wonderful food. Memories of holidays past were instantly brought to mind as she opened her eyes. Only she did not see the stone ceiling above her. Oh that's right, she was at her mom's back home in the USA! Floo powder. Ugh. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, then got up. She was still in her clothes she had travelled in! She stripped them off, and climbed into the shower. 

20 minutes later, she emerged from the bedroom. "Good morning, sleepyhead," her mother said. 

"Hi mom. Wow that smells good. What time is it?" 

"A little after 1. Dinner will be around 4." 

"Not morning at all then is it?" 

"Nope!" 

Tara's relatives began to arrive and they had a very nice Thanksgiving Dinner. Tara wasn't allowed to talk about the details of her assignment at Hogwart's; she just said that she was doing a site for a big academy in the UK. Her mother was the only one who knew the magical details. 

"So when do you fly back?" her Uncle Frank asked her. 

"Oh, probably Saturday." 

"You're not sure? What, has the airline got you on stand by?" he started. "Yes. She's on stand-by," Joan answered, shooting Tara a strange look. 

"Yeah, you know those airlines," Tara said, taking a bite of stuffing. 

"Which airline did you fly?" he asked. Tara was at a loss. "Um, which one is it, mum?" Tara's young cousin, Fred, laughed. "You called her 'mum.'" 

"Well it's tough not to pick up some of their Brit terms. I'm the only American over there, and the only muggle--" 

"The only what?" Fred asked. 

Oh shit. How was she going to get out of this one. "It's what they call computer geeks over there," she said quickly. Yeah, that's it. 

Fred made a face. "What a weird place," he commented. Tara was relieved. 

By the next day, she was ready to leave after she read her e-mail. One entire node on the network had gone down in one of the dorms. And then, came the question from Tara's mother. "Have you met anyone over there?" 

"Well, kind of, sort of. But it didn't work out." 

"What did you do?" 

"Mom, why is it always _my_ fault?" Tara asked, angrily. 

"It takes two to tango, you know..." 

"Oh tango. Why did you have to say tango?" Tara sat down on the couch heavily. Joan could see that she had struck a nerve and was immediately sorry for pressing her daughter. 

"What is it, dear?" 

"Oh, at a banquet, I did the tango with one of the professors--" 

"You learned to tango? I can't believe it!" 

"No, I didn't. He put some kind of spell on me so my body just danced. It was very bizarre...but it got to me...anyway. It didn't work out. That's all." 

"I'm sorry to hear that." 

"Yes, me too." She glanced at the clock. It was noon, which meant it was about 8 at Hogwart's. She went to her mother's computer to send an e-mail announcing she was ready to come back. This time, she put on her night shirt with her big robe over it so that way if she fell asleep on the spot, at least she would be dressed for it. 

"Well, I'm all packed, I think I'm going to head back," she said. 

"So soon?" 

"Christmas is just around the corner, you know I'll be back in a month. Or, you could come over there, you know...well maybe not..." 

"Okay, whatever, dear." 

Whatever. She went to her mother's fireplace and opened the doors, waiting for M to come back and get her. 

"Oh good, they're sending your friend again?" 

"Yes. You'll hear from me in a few days, remember. The sleep thing..." 

"Right." 

She heard a whoosh coming from the fireplace like a train coming. But who rolled out of the fireplace was not M; it was Snape. 

"Good evening, Miss Hall," he said. Oh, we're back to Miss Hall again. "Good evening, Professor Snape," Tara stammered. Joan noticed that he flustered her daughter. "Good evening, you must be Mrs. Hall," he said politely. Joan nodded and extended a hand. "Pleased to meet you." 

"Your daughter has done amazing things," he said in his slow, cool way. "You must be very proud of her." 

"I am." She could see that there was more than admiration of Tara on his part. 

"Are you ready?" he asked, looking down at Tara. 

"Yes," she said, picking up her bags. He took one from her. "It was nice to meet you," he said to Tara's mother. "Yes, thank you. Nice meeting you too. Take good care of my daughter," she said. 

"I intend to," he told her, and with a whoosh, they were gone. "He intends to," Joan repeated the words he had said. She wondered if this was who it hadn't worked out with. She did say she had danced with a professor. He was much older than her daughter...but that didn't matter so much those days. 

She wondered if she was going to end up with another wizard in the family... 


	13. Chapter 13: Back Home Again at Hogwart'...

**

Chapter 13

**

Tara watched as Snape tumbled out in front of her, and she tumbled out and tried not to--but landed right on top of him. They were in her quarters. Now this was an interesting situation, he thought to himself. 

For a moment, Tara felt dizzy and couldn't move. "We have _got_ to stop running into each other like this," he said, unable to reist the opportunity. Annoyed, Tara rolled off of him. That wasn't a good way to have come home! She began feeling waves of nausea and fatigue. Severus sat up and reached into his pocket for a small bottle of potion. 

"I have something for you to try," he told her, "it might keep you from having to sleep for days following floo powder use," he told her and handed it to her. He had been working on it all week, whenever he got a chance. 

"Just drink it all down," he told her. 

"Okay." She pulled the stopper out, then drank it down like a shot of tequila. It made her cough a little bit, and it burned her throat. "Man, I need a chaser," she croaked, "got any salt and a lemon?" but strangely, the waves of fatigue were lessening and the queasiness stopped. She had a little bit of water, and her throat stopped burning. 

"Wow. I think it worked," she said. 

"We'll know within the hour," he told her, pleased that his hours of research and careful experimenting had paid off. "Now why do you need salt and a lemon--" he began. 

"It's a muggle thing when you take a shot of tequila. Never mind." 

She stood up and threw her bags on her bed, and unzipped one. She made a pile of laundry and put the rest of her things away, hoping he would get the hint and leave. 

"I need to stay with you to make sure it doesn't have any nasty side effects," he told her, seeming to read her mind again. 

"Stay with me?" she said, her expression blank. 

"Yes, just observe you for a while." 

"Okay. Beats dying or turning into a sponge or something." She continued unpacking, and then all of a sudden, she sat down on the bed, turning to Snape and said, "you know what--I'm real slee--"she didn't finish the word. She fell back, and was snoring softly. "Well so much for my potion," Snape muttered. It had worked for about 15 minutes, but that was all. He put her bags on the floor and then lifted her up and slid her in between the covers. He looked at her peaceful sleeping form, then leaned down and caressed her face, then drew back his hand as if it were on fire. He turned out the lights and left her there, sleeping. 

The next morning, he checked on her. He had to know that nothing had gone wrong, and sure enough, he opened her door gently, and she was still sleeping, her cats on her, and she seemed fine, so he headed down for breakfast. 

"How did Tara do with her journey home?" Albus asked, joining Severus in the hallway. 

"She's fine, but my potion didn't work. It worked for 15 minutes, then she just fell asleep right in the middle of telling me she was sleepy. I checked her just now, she's fine." 

"Good. Well you tried." 

"I guess I didn't make it potent enough. I didn't want to take any chances." 

They entered the hall and sat at their places at the great table. The students were filtering in, and then Tara was walking in. 

"Maybe it _did_ work," Severus said under his breath. She came and sat and greeted Madame Hooch. "How come you didn't come get me?" she asked. "Severus insisted on getting you himself. He was trying his new potion so maybe you wouldn't sleep for days. It seemed to work!" 

"What day is it?" 

"It's Saturday." 

"Then it did work. I mean, I woke up in my bed, and the last thing I remember last night was sitting down and telling him that I was sleepy and that's all I remember." 

"How do you feel now?" 

"Like usual. Good. I don't have to sleep away my entire weekend. I hate that; it's such a waste!" 

Tara did feel great, very refreshed, and was glad she had gone home for a few days, but very glad to be back. But she was still feeling sad. She avoided Snape whenever she could but it was difficult, and part of her yearned for him. 

That night she went down to the storage room to play the piano. She hadn't been there in weeks. She had brought matches from her mom's house so she could light the candles. She had been so tempted to start smoking again, but the potion for that seemed to be working to quell her cravings. She wanted to start again out of rebellion but then realized no, this was much better, and she did feel much better without it. 

She sat down at the piano, and warmed up, then started playing a song by ear. It wasn't easy to play on the piano, but she sort of made up her own arrangement and sang. 

_...well I've been afraid of changing since I   
built my life around you....   
But time makes you bolder even children get older   
and I'm getting older too... _

Oh take my love - take it down   
Climb a mountain and turn around   
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hill...   
then the landslide will bring it down   
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hill...then the landslide will bring it down....   
Oh the landslide will bring you down... 

  
Landslide. The ultimate broken heart song. Oh, but Tara knew lots of other songs. She had once been the lead singer in a band, back after her divorce. She had a lot of fun with it, and knew lots of songs. She didn't quite have the range she used to; she hadn't practiced singing in a while, so when she played and sang "Blue Bayou," she didn't know if she'd be able to reach the last note, which was an e one octave above a middle C. But to her surprise she did. She hoped that Hagrid's three headed dog didn't start howling or anything... 

"That was incredible." Tara screamed and turned around. Severus Snape was standing there. She wondered how long he had been there. 

"Where did you come from?" she asked. "My mother," he replied sarcastically. Oh great. He was picking up her wisecracks. She tried to imagine what Snape's mother--oh never mind, she told herself. "I didn't mean to startle you." 

"You never do but you always seem to accomplish just that. I haven't screamed so many times in as many months!" 

Severus thought of a reply with certain situational undertones but stopped himself. "You're blushing," he commented instead. 

"Well, I'm not used to anyone hearing me try to sing. I was just sitting here thinking that I hope I don't disturb that three headed dog of Hagrid's. I'd hate to hear them howling." 

"I didn't know you could sing. What don't you do well?" he asked her. 

"I don't dance! You can attest to that. And I wouldn't know how to make a potion if I tried or where to get ingredients or what would happen if I mixed asphodel and wormwood together." 

This surprised Severus. "How did you know that you might mix those two together?" he asked. 

"I don't know...wait...um, you would get a sleeping potion so potent...wait it's coming to me...Draught of the Living Death. Where did _that_ come from?" 

"Have you been eavesdropping in my classes? Did you hook up a web cam and bug my dungeon?" Tara's mouth dropped open, and her eyes flashed with anger. 

"Of course not! What do you think I am - some sort of criminal?" 

"I know that you would have no knowledge of what you just said without attending one of my classes or reading up on this, and I'm sure it is of little interest to you to spend time reading up on it." 

Tara didn't know what to say. He had managed to piss her off again. At the same time, she was totally bewildered how she knew that. She seemed to almost see the words in front of her. 

"I don't know how I knew that, honestly. You must believe me. Go ahead and search your dungeon for a bug - that would be some trick for a mere muggle - to hide a camera in stone walls." This was true, and she was making a good point. 

"I'm sorry I jumped to that conclusion, you are correct. But how did you know?" 

"I don't know. It was if I was thinking about stuff you know about and suddenly, some words jumped into my mind, and a whole train of thought...it was just plain weird!" 

Snape wondered if the potion he had given her to fix her problems with floo powder had opened up her mind and caused her to be a bit psychic. 

"Can you do it again?" he asked. She tried, but nothing. She just drew a blank, and shook her head. 

"Well that is strange. Please let me know if anything of the sort happens again. It could be the potion's lingering effects, but it should be out of your system by now, I should think." 

Tara was scared, and Severus could see that she was very frightened, and looked like she might cry. "What if something terrible happens to me from it?" 

"That is doubtful. There's nothing toxic to your system in it." 

"I hope there isn't a chemical reaction from what is in it!" 

"I don't think so. I took the utmost of care." 

She sighed, and poured herself some wine. 

"Do you want some?" she asked, holding her glass out to him. "I only brought one glass, but I don't have cooties or anything." 

"Cooties?" 

"Muggle term for germs or something like that." 

"Thank you but I'll pass. I came to talk to you about what happened a few weeks ago." 

"Oh that." Tara sighed and put her wine glass down. "I'm sorry I made those assumptions about you," she said, "and sorry I called you a moody bastard." 

"Well, I accept your apology, but you weren't far off the mark at my being a moody bastard. I know I'm not the friendliest sort, and get in my moods." 

"Me too. I know I'm a pain in the butt sometimes--" He looked at her with a look that clearly questioned sometimes? "Hey, I'm not that bad! Okay maybe I am. I enjoy taunting you, Sev. I really do. You Brits have the most marvelous way of expressing yourselves, I just love it." 

"My thoughts about you Americans is precisely the same." 

"And you have this slow deliberate way of talking, and oh, I just love your accent, and your voice, and--" She stopped. Man she was blurting like a teenager now. 

"You're blushing again," he said quietly, "and _I_ have no accent. _You_ do," he said and actually grinned, which was a rare occurance. 

"I can believe it," she said, wanting to shrink and get under the piano and stay there for a few months. Severus sat down on the piano bench beside her, and she was thinking of how she really needed to ask for another chair in there, wanting to scoot over. He brushed her hair from her face and stroked her cheek. 

"Do you think we can start over?" he asked, chasing away all of the voices inside of him telling him it was a mistake. He was having serious second thoughts all day and decided no, he had flown off the handle; they both had. 

"Do you want to bother with a crazy muggle like me?" she asked, tears in her eyes. 

He nodded, and kissed her. Wave after wave of dizziness hit her and he had to keep her from falling off the bench again when they parted. "Do you have a potion for that? I'm going to fall off and hurt myself one of these days!" she exclaimed. 

"I'll see what I can do," he said and kissed her again... 

The next morning, Tara was filled with joy. She put on one of her favorite romantic songs and was singing along as she got ready. She was all dressed, and went into the last verse with the singer, Basia, at the top of her lungs, using her hairbrush like a microphone... 

_Time and tide -   
no one or nothing can stop us now   
For better for worse this time I'm sure It's gonna last   
Gonna last forever!_
  
  
The door opened then, and there he was. Mortified, Tara went to turn off the music and apologized. 

"That was very nice," Severus commented. 

"Um, thanks. Old song. Came out around '85 or so," she stammered, totally off guard and embarrassed. Taking his arm, they went down to the hall and everyone hushed as they made their entrance. 

"Here we go again," he commented. 

"Yep. Just smile. That ought to freak em' out." 

"What do you mean by that remark?" he asked. 

"You know what I mean. You never smile. I have probably seen you smile more than anyone here who have known you for years." She continued to tease him about being a moody bastard, in a lighthearted way that amused him. 

"Get over to your chair, Missy!" he said, and smiled at her, quicker than quick. 

Madame Hooch nudged her. "Yeah, we made up," Tara told her. "I can see that! I thought he was going to grab your butt!" Tara and M broke into a very girlish fit of giggling until Minerva elbowed them to behave, fighting not to laugh also. 

Things were going wonderfully between Severus and Tara, and Christmas was in the air. Tara and Severus spent a great deal of time together, and he was a perfect gentleman when it came to courting her. 

One morning at breakfast, the owls came in to drop off mail. One dropped the daily tabloid in front of Tara. She had started subscribing to get a better handle of what was going on in the magical world. She couldn't believe what she saw. "Oh shit..." she muttered. Madame Hooch looked over and saw what she was looking at. A picture of Severus and Tara was right on the front page. They were walking arm in arm in town, and stopped to steal a kiss. Oh NO. The headline read "Hogwart's Potion Master Courts American Muggle Computer Expert." Tara read the paragraph. It wasn't uncomplimentary towards either of them; it just said that the seemingly heartless insensitive Professor Severus Snape had fallen in love. and could wedding bells be ringing in the near future. "He's never told me that he loves me - oh this is terrible. They are doing what the Media does all over the world; blowing it way out of proportion." From where he was sitting, Severus could see Tara was very upset about something. She glanced up at him, and got out of her seat and went outside, motioning for him to come with her. 

"Is there something the matter?" he asked. "Read this!," she said, thrusting the tabloid into his hands. He saw the picture and smirked, then read the article. "This isn't so bad," he said. "It isn't? Sev, they're talking like we're getting married or something! This is going to have the whole school buzzing!" 

"We already have that..." 

"But now it's in black and white - and motion!" she said, referring to the magic moving photo of them together. 

"I don't think it's so bad. It had to come out eventually. It's all right. If anyone has to be annoyed by this, it's me; I'm the one having to keep the students in order in my classes." 

"That's true. Oh man, I'm sorry...I'm always trying to make sure we aren't seen..." 

"Well I'm not ashamed of how I feel about you." 

"Neither am I but are you sure? I'm a muggle, after all." 

"I'm sure. This isn't how I wanted to tell you, but since the paper here is a step ahead of me, I'll go ahead and tell you. I love you, Miss Tara Hall." He was telling her right there in the corridor? She got dizzy, and saw little silver spots. She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I love you too, Sev. I really do." 

He held her close and she felt safe and warm, like nothing could ever hurt her again... 


	14. Chapter 14: Home for the Holidays and a...

**

Chapter 14

**

The Christmas holiday was upon them, and most of the students were going home. Tara was going to go visit her mother for the holidays and she had told her about her relationship, so naturally Severus was invited too. He had been working on his potion for the floo powder side effects and they had done some testing and it seemed to be working. She still got very tired, but didn't drop into a dead sleep all of a sudden; she could make it a couple of hours before she needed to get to bed, so they arranged their travel when their arrival would be just before Tara's bedtime. This made adjusting to the time zones easier on Tara also. 

They arrived the day before Christmas eve, in the evening. 

"Nice to see you again," Joan Hall said to Severus, as he got to his feet. "Thank you for having me for the holiday," he said, and extended his hand to help Tara up. He tweaked her chin. "You didn't scream this time," he commented. 

"Well all of the testing - I guess I'm getting sort of used to this," she said. Joan sighed. They made a very unusual couple. He wasn't exactly handsome in a common way; but there was something very striking about him and his very presence was nothing short of charismatic. She could see why Tara was crazy about him. Despite his austere appearance, he was very gentle with Tara and Joan could see he cared for her very much. 

"Do you have to go to sleep?" Joan asked her daughter. 

"No, Sev perfected his potion for me - I'll need to in about 2 hours, unless he tweaked it some more. Did you?" she asked, looking up at him. "A little bit, so we'll see what happens," he told her. 

"So, where am I sleeping?" Tara asked her mother, picking up her bags. 

"I thought you guys could sleep in the guest room." Tara was alarmed. "Both of us--?" she asked, flushing crimson. 

"Oh - I assumed you...you're a grown woman, after all" Joan said awkwardly. 

"Um, no we don't, uh, haven't..." Tara stammered. 

"Okay. Well good for you two! Most couple just dive straight into the bedroom, and, you know...well I guess I could put one of you in the den on the air bed..." 

"I'll take the air bed. I am prone to insomnia, so I only sleep a few hours each night," Severus told her. 

"Well there we go. Can I treat you two to something to drink?" 

"That would be nice," Tara said. She went to drop her things in the guest room, and then joined them in the living room. They had a glass of wine and visited. 

"Is the whole family coming tomorrow?" Tara asked. 

"Yes, the usual crowd." 

"How are we going to explain..." Tara asked, looking at Severus. 

"I'll behave," he told her. 

"Are you sure about that?" Tara teased. He nodded. 

"No slip ups from you either," Joan told her daughter sternly. Severus looked at Tara questioningly. 

"Well on Thanksgiving, they were asking me things like when I was going back and I absently said either Friday or Saturday, then had to make up something about being on standby, and then I mentioned the word muggle, and well...I'm used to being around it now. Maybe I just ought to shut up and not say anything." 

"No, you wouldn't last an hour. Not even a minute. Maybe 5? 10 seconds at the most?" Severus teased her and Joan had to laugh. "You sure know my daughter, don't you?" 

"Oh yes..." Severus said, turning to his flustered companion. She stuck her tongue out at him and made a face. "You're no better," she commented. Severus sighed and looked back to Joan, who was amused by their banter. "You see what I have been putting up with for the past few months?" he said to Joan. "Well you're sometimes a big old moody--" "Don't start..." he said putting a finger gently on her lips, his expression soft, "and I'm not that much older than you are, you know." Tara held up a hand with her thumb and index finger indicating a bit. He reached out and pushed her fingers closer together, taunting her. Joan shook her head. They were too much. 

Tara grew tired after a few hours (3 hours this time!) and she said goodnight. Severus stayed up, talking with Joan. Joan found him intriguing and very intelligent. They talked about Tara and how impossible she had been when he had first met her, and that she couldn't stand him. Severus could see where Tara got her fiery wit; clearly from her mother. It was easy for him to feel comfortable with her. 

"Since I knew she couldn't stand me, it was fun to toy with her," he said. "She would get so _pissed off_ at me and say the damndest things. It was quite enjoyable." 

"Yes, I'm afraid she gets that from me. She'll get mad, blurt something, and then regret it later." 

"Exactly. For a while, she had this fear that I would turn her into an object if she pissed me off. I made the mistake of telling her I wouldn't do that, and she got a lot more brave. But it was sill enjoyable," he decided. 

"I guess it's time to tell her about her father," Joan said, sighing. 

"Her father?" 

"Yes. She never knew him. You don't know?" 

"Know what?" 

"Well, Albus knows..." 

"Do you know Albus Dumbledore?" 

"Oh yes. Tara's father...was one of your type. A wizard. I never told her because she never developed any powers of her own, never got the letter to go to Hogwart's, so I guess she wound up like me instead. I believe the term for mixed kids from a wizard and a muggle is 'mudblood' but I know that is a derrogatory term." 

"Yes it is. So she does have something. Albus has never mentioned it to me, but I think I can understand why. That explains how she told me what ingredients in a certain potion work..." 

"What?" 

"I think she does have some power as a telepath," he told her. "It was as if she read words right out of my mind. A lot of us have that capability, I have it to a certain extent. But hers flickers on and off like a loose electrical connection." 

Joan was not that surprised, she had experienced clairvoyance from her daughter from time to time, but figured it was just a female intuition thing. Clearly there was much more to it. 

"So what happened to her father?" 

"He was in a Quidditch practice. Slammed into a wall. Tara was only 2 years old." 

"That is a shame." 

"I figured I would have to tell her sooner or later, and I almost did when she was contacted to do the Hogwart's site; Albus contacted me first, but we decided no, not to tell her. For then anyway. But I think it's time. I almost told her last month when she was here, but I couldn't find the right opportunity." 

"Maybe we should both tell her," he suggested. "I suspected there was something." 

"All right, we'll have to do it before the family gets here. It's the muggle side of the family. They never had any idea about Thor's special talents, so to speak." 

"Thor--Quidditch player--Thor Beringer by any chance?" 

"The very same. After he died, I went back to my maiden name and changed it for Tara as well. Since she wasn't showing any talents at 2, and we were told that it would be very apparent by then, I decided to raise her as a muggle without exposure to your world. I kept in contact with Albus, he was always a good friend. 

"I remember hearing about that accident years and years ago, even before I went to Hogwarts. I was a little kid -- I guess I was 4 when it happened since Tara was 2. It seemed so unnecessary." 

"Yes, it sure was." 

Joan was starting to get sleepy and bade her guest good night. Severus stayed up, thinking about how it all made sense. This also made it easier with regards to any future they had together. He couldn't wait to tell her, but also feared her reaction. She could be so sensitive - he didn't want to send her over the edge. 

They were getting along together so well...why spoil it? But perhaps Joan was right, it was time. 


	15. Chapter 15: Christmas Eve's Visitor (No...

**

Chapter 15

**

The next morning, Joan got up to find Severus in the kitchen making tea. It wasn't just past 6 AM, and it was still dark outside. 

"Good morning," she said. He turned to her, "Good morning." "Did you sleep all right on the air bed?" 

"Yes, it worked out fine. Do you want some tea?" he asked her. 

"No, I'll have some coffee though," she said setting up the machine. She checked the refrigerator to make sure she had remembered to put Diet Pepsi in. She hadn't. 

"Oh no, I forgot to put Tara's Pepsi in," she said, rushing to her cabinet. She put a few cans in the refrigerator. "Hopefully it'll get cold in time." Severus excused himself, and returned with his wand. 

"Allow me," Severus said, and with a wave of his wand, the cans in the refrigerator were instantly cold. 

"I have forgotten how handy it is to have a wizard around the house," Joan remarked. 

"Good morning." Tara was in the doorway, rubbing her eyes. Severus walked up to her to kiss her. 

"Don't, I haven't brushed my--" too late. He grabbed her and kissed her. "Teeth," she finished, grimacing. "I don't mind." Tara made her face even worse. "Eeew. I do." 

She opened the refrigerator and grabbed a Diet Pepsi, opened it, and took a long pull. "Wow, that is extra cold!" she remarked. "Brain freeze!" 

"Good job," Joan said to Severus, who looked satisfied. Tara didn't notice the comment. "Well, I'm going to get showered and all of that. I brought my muggle clothes for the family event," she said, and then she got an alarmed expression. "Holy cow, I forgot about that. How are we going to explain Severus's attire? It's not exactly conventional muggle." 

"I can whip up something muggle, if you help me with it," he offered. She shook her head. "No, this is who you are and I don't want you to change a thing." 

"Don't worry, I already took care of it," Joan said. Both Tara and Severus turned to her, surprised. "I told them that Tara was bringing a man friend from England to Christmas dinner and that he is a bit unusual and into the 'goth' thing." Tara laughed. 

"What is 'the _goth_ thing?'" Severus asked, looking from Tara to her mother. 

"Well, it's these people who dress all in black, or just big capes--well, pretty much how they dress at Hogwart's, only they are muggles. Only thing is mom, they're pretty young, the goth people." 

"Oh that's charming. So now they're expecting a strange gothic man who is obviously having some sort of midlife crisis," he muttered. 

"It's goth," Tara corrected him. He smirked. "Whatever. Seriously, if you need me to look more muggle, I can do something along those lines." Tara shook her head again. "It's a non issue." 

After breakfast, Joan sent off an e-mail to Albus Dumbledore regarding Tara, and wanting to tell her about her father. She really wanted his advice before she said anything to her. 

Most of the day was spent preparing for the Christmas Dinner, and that night was Christmas Eve, so Joan put on a holiday DVD. Severus wasn't used to watching things on TV and was fascinated by it. 

"You've never watched a DVD?" Joan asked, amazed. "Thor used to watch movies and television with me..." 

"You're forgetting, mom, Sev works in a dungeon, remember?" He made a face at her and ruffled her hair. He put his arm around her and they watched _It's a Wonderful Life._

They drank some mulled wine that Tara made for them and stayed up late. Tara dozed off while they watched _A Christmas Story_. "She's out cold," Joan said, as the movie ended. Severus took his arm out from behind her and stretched--his arm had been numb for some time but he didn't want to move and wake her up. She stirred then. 

"Time for bed," he told her gently. She nodded groggily and she got up, reluctantly, and kissed him good night, then slumped off to bed, barely awake. 

"I think I'll go to bed also," he told Joan. "But first, did you hear back from Albus?" 

Joan shook her head. "Not yet. But then again, it's Christmas. Maybe he's away from his computer." 

"That's doubtful; he's hooked." 

Right then, there was a whoosh and Albus was in the fireplace. They weren't expecting him, but he was certainly welcome. Joan opened the doors and he tumbled out. "We were expecting Santa Claus," Joan said with a smile, "after all, it is Christmas Eve. 

Albus stood up and dusted himself off. "We were just discussing you, wondering if you got my e-mail." Albus nodded. "Rather than just e-mail you back, I felt this warranted a personal visit. How are you Severus?" 

"Very well, thank you." 

"And Joan, it must be at least 20 years since I last saw you," he said, clasping her hand. "Can I get you some mulled wine?" she asked. "Tara made us a bunch." 

"That sounds intriguing, yes, Please. Where is Tara?" 

"Sleeping," Joan replied, ladling the fragrant red liquid into a mug. She handed it to Albus, and they all went to sit down in the living room. 

"Perhaps that's just as well. So I assume you haven't told her anything." 

"No. I wanted to talk to you first." 

"A wise decision. It's important that she doesn't think that any of us kept anything from her. Of course, you just found out, Severus. 

"But I suspected something was there," he commented. 

"Yes, and there is. But it isn't fully developed and it may never become fully developed. But, she still deserves to know. I believe we should tell her, the sooner, the better." 

"We?" Severus asked. 

"I think I should be present when we tell her. Maybe tomorrow--" 

"Muggle family is coming, and they already had to explain me as some sort of eccentric man from the UK," Severus remarked. 

"Well, how about the day after tomorrow? Would that work?" 

Joan nodded. "I think so. That's the day you two are heading back, isn't it?" 

"We think so. Perhaps we'll stay an extra day with this turn of events." 

So it was agreed that Albus Dumbledore would come the day after Christmas and they would tell Tara of her father. 

Later, laying on the air bed, Severus felt a degree of anxiety. How would she react? He hoped she might be pleased. 

But with Tara, one could never be sure of her reaction to anything. He turned over and slept fitfully... 


	16. Chapter 16: A Christmas to Remember

**

Chapter 16

**

It was Christmas! Tara always felt like a kid on Christmas, and bounced out of bed before 7 AM. She found Severus and her mom sitting at the table with their respective tea and coffee. "Merry Christmas!" Tara said excitedly and both turned to her. "Merry Christmas, my love," Severus said. _My love?_ Wow. "I think I like that. That's a nice Christmas present--a term of endearment." This time she had brushed her teeth before coming out so she didn't mind when he kissed her good morning. 

"So, can we open presents?" she asked. Joan laughed. "You'd never know the kid is pushing 40, would you?" she said standing. They followed Tara into the living room, and she grabbed her full Christmas stocking off of the mantle hook. That was her favorite part, and every year for the last 15 years her mother had threatened that would be the last year of the Christmas stocking, but always gave in to Tara's protests. 

She sat down on the floor, with her hips turned out so her legs made an "M." "How on Earth can you sit like that?" Severus asked. He had never seen her do that, but then he had never seen her seated on the floor either. "She's always sat like that, from the time she was a toddler," Joan told him. "Yes, I can lay back too," Tara said, laying flat on the floor. Severus gave her a 'delicious' look, and she sat up quickly, blushing. Joan stifled a laugh and admired her daughter's suitor's strength. 

Tara drew out a candy cane, some funny little wrapped nicknacks, and a pen that had a cord to hang around her neck. She was always losing pens and could never put her hands on one when she needed one. "Well this will help," she said putting it around her neck. Next she drew out a soft package and gasped when she unwrapped it. It was a pair of stars and stripes slipper socks. The treads were little stars. She immediately put them on - her feet were cold and she had forgotten hers, which had holes in them anyway. "Where did you find these?" she asked. Severus shook his head. "They match that bag you wear around your waist," he commented. "I know." Joan smiled. "She's always been very patriotic, you know. I found those at a funny little store your aunt and I like to wander into. They're coming today by the way," she said, of Tara's Aunt Nicole. "Oh good! She's from Scotland," Tara told Severus, "but she doesn't have her accent anymore." 

"So, what's under the tree?" Joan asked. Tara looked up at the tree which was a small tree on top of the mantle. She had slipped her gifts under the tree the day before, and pulled them out. "This one is for you, mom, and this is for you!" she handed Severus a package. He held out a small package to her as well. "You got me something?" she asked. "Of course. Can you think of what I would have to endure if I had forgotten?" he said throwing a sideways glance at Joan, who laughed. 

Joan fished out some presents in gift bags for Tara and handed a page to Severus. "You didn't have to--" he began. "It's Christmas. I did too. Everyone who comes to my home on Christmas is required to have a gift. So enjoy." 

They started unwrapping their gifts. Tara had brought her mother a unique plate from London. Her mother collected fine china and figurines, and this one had different colors in it that matched her decor. She liked it very much, and Tara demonstrated that if you hold it up to a light, you could see the light coming through it. 

"Oh my," Severus said, opening the package Joan had given him. Inside was a USA mug with a pair of the same slipper socks she had given Tara. Tara started laughing hysterically, trying to picture Severus wearing them, while sipping tea out of a mug with a huge American flag on it. "Thank you...I think," he said. Joan and Tara exchanged looks and Tara finally stopped laughing. She saw that he had the package she had given him. He stopped, and looked at her. "Go ahead," she told him. "No, why don't you open the one I gave you first?" She picked up the small package. "Okay. If you insist," she said, with a juvenile look in her eye. "Hey what do you expect? I'm just a kid on Christmas morning," she said, answering his amused look. 

She unwrapped the package and it was a velvet box, clearly one that held jewelry. She opened it and it contained a silver ring with the most spectacular bluish opal. "Oh my" she exclaimed. "This is beautiful! What is it?" She stood up and walked over to Severus, who took it out of the box. "This is a very rare, special Atlantis opal. They are very hard to get. This one has been in my family for generations," he said, and slipped it on her ring finger of her left hand. It was a little bit big. "I'll have to get it sized," she began. He shook his head. "Give it a moment." Sure enough, the ring adjusted to fit her finger perfectly. Just as it did, the colors in the stone began moving, swirling. Tara gasped -- it was as if the ocean were inside the stone. Joan leaned over to take a look, and she and Tara exchanged quick looks and Joan cleared her throat. Severus looked at Joan with a knowing look. "I guess it's time," he said. 

"Time for what?" Tara asked. "Sit down," both Joan and Severus said together. Tara looked from one to the other, and sat as requested. 

"Tara, I never told you much about your father..." 

"Well you said his name was Thor, and I've seen pictures--and that he had an industrial accident when I was practically a baby..." 

"Yes, but I didn't tell you the rest of it," Joan said, looking frantically at Severus. 

"Tara, this ring is very unusual. You see how the colors are swirling? Take it off for a moment, let me show you something." She slipped it off and the stone was still once more. He took it from her and handed it to Joan. "Try it on. Show her." Joan slipped it on, it sized, and remained motionless. "How come it isn't--" Tara began. Was she missing something? Her mother slipped it off again and handed it to her daughter. Severus watched her put it back on, it sized, and the stone began to swirl its colors once more. Tara was silent, confused, looking from her mother to Severus. "What does this mean?" she finally asked. 

"Atlantis stones used to be used centuries ago to confirm wizarding types from muggles. There used to be a great deal of muggles who claimed to be of our type, and the stone always revealed who was telling the truth and who wasn't." _Our_ type? 

"Your father was a wizard, Tara," Joan told her. "So, it's in your blood. It never manifested fully, so I never told you." Tara felt a shock wave and turned to Severus, anger in her eyes. "You knew?" she accused. "I only found out a couple of days ago when your mum told me," he told her, and she believed him. "So, if a muggle puts this ring on, it just acts like a normal stone. But if a --" What was she? "...witch....puts it on, it does this." I'm a witch, she thought. Oh dear. "Does that mean I'm a witch? I mean...I know I get in bad moods sometimes..." that comment eased the tension, and they laughed but she was pretty nervous. "Man, I wish I hadn't quit smoking..." she said, "I mean, I'm glad I did but...this is one of those moments where I could use one..." Severus shook his head. "You would find it quite distasteful now. I put something in the withdrawal potion that, if you ever slipped, would make it so unpleasant, you would never want to do it again." 

"Ah, kind of like what you put on kids' fingers when you are trying to get them to quit sucking them when they are small," Joan said. "Exactly," he confirmed. 

"So, do I have any powers?" Tara asked them both. 

"You have some; you are telepathic. But it isn't steady," Severus explained. "Remember the day you told me about a potion?" Tara nodded and understood. In fact, she understood a lot of things now. 

"How come the floo powder gets to me so badly?" 

"Because you aren't a full fledged...witch," her mother said. "I never thought I'd be referring to my daughter as a witch!" 

This was a lot for Tara to digest, but she was okay with it. For one thing, she wouldn't feel like such an outsider at Hogwart's anymore. 

"Sev, you haven't opened your present," Tara said. He had almost forgotten--the excitement of breaking this earth shattering news to Tara was taking an obvious forefront. He opened up the package that Tara had wrapped. "I kind of suck at wrapping," she said, "oh sorry mom!" 

It was a muggle cookbook. "I figured since you are so adept at making potions, you ought to try some cooking. There are some great recipes in there." 

"Well thank you. I think I will enjoy this. But I'll need someone to help me eat this, else I'll have a bit of trouble with an expanding waistline. Do you think you could lend a hand?" he asked. 

"I think I can arrange that. Speaking of cooking, I'd better get in the kitchen," Tara said. She had offered to make one of her fantastic Mexican breakfasts which her mother raved about. Severus had never had this, and was curious. 

He sat at the counter, watching her expertise in the kitchen, as she made tortillas, roasted and cut up peppers, then flipped tortillas in the air as they cooked, and made up some eggs. He had no idea she was so good about the kitchen. "I ought to start teaching you potions," he commented. "Think so?" she asked as she flipped another tortilla in the air and caught it back in the pan. "Absolutely." 

A half hour later, they were sitting down to the incredible feast. "I sure love it when this kid cooks," Joan remarked. "It's like magic," she said, winking at her daughter. Tara cleared away the dishes afterwards and insisted on cleaning up. Then each of them went to get ready for the rest of the festivities planned for that day. 

Tara put on a long, black jumper which had a Christmas tree stitched on the front of it, over a red turtleneck shirt. She had black velvet slippers with poinsettias on them that she had gotten several years earlier at a discount store for $4.99. 

"Well don't you look nice." Severus had just come into the living room, where Tara was standing by the fire. "You like my muggle Christmas clothes?" she asked. He nodded and commented, "Very festive." She looked at him and pulled on his black robe. "Very Goth," she teased. "Yep, the relatives are going to have an eye full!" 

Did they ever. They arrived and immediately were staring at the unusual guest. But once everyone sat down and had some champagne, they loosened up. 

"So, what do you teach over there at the academy?" Uncle Frank asked Severus. Severus started to reply and Tara said "Chemistry!" and at the same time Joan said "Culinary arts!" The two looked at each other awkwardly. Severus saved the day. "Well, I teach both of those things. They have us wear many hats at the...academy." Whew. Got through that one, Tara thought to herself. 

"What a combination. Don't mix those two up," Uncle Frank joked. 

"How come you wear so much black on Christmas?" Tara's young cousin, Jenny asked, her wide blue eyes staring up at Severus. 

Oh no. "I'm kind of into the Goth thing," he said, acting like he knew full well what that was. Tara put her hands into her hair. Oh boy... 

Luckily, that was a good enough answer for Jenny, who asked if she could go outside to play. She and Tara's other cousins ran out with her. Tara's Aunt Nicole had arrived by then, and was very happy to meet Severus and didn't say anything about his unusual appearance. In fact, she caught Tara alone in the kitchen and said "well he's quite something isn't he?" "Oh yes!" Quite something didn't even scratch the surface! 

At the dinner table, Aunt Nicole was seated next to Tara and noticed the ring. Tara looked at her, alarmed, and her aunt smiled, knowingly. Did she know something too? What Tara didn't realize was that she hadn't really noticed the motion--it was the fact that she had a ring on her left ring finger, where one typically wears a wedding ring. 

That evening after all of the guests had gone, Tara and Severus went for a walk. Her mother lived on a golf course and it was okay after hours to walk on the paths that the golf carts used. "So, you survived all of my muggle relatives," Tara was saying. "They weren't bad at all. I think I could grow to like them, once I get to know them," he said. "I think my Aunt knows..." Tara said. "Why do you think that?" Tara stopped and they faced each other. "Because she saw my ring and looked at me like she understood." 

He picked up her hands and squeezed them, then kissed the tips of all 10 of her fingers, one by one. This sent shivers up and down her spine. "No, she doesn't know, your mother said no one on that side of the family would understand." 

"Well then, what was the look about? What do you suppose?" She looked at her left hand again. "Should I wear the ring on this finger?" she asked. "That's where I first put it," he told her. "Shouldn't it be on my other hand? The left ring finger is for..." oh that was it. Her aunt thought they were -- but he had put it there...she looked up at him, her mouth open. He tilted his head and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Tara, I haven't felt like this in years. I know that my world is all new to you, and it's your world too now. So, it may take some adjusting, but I hope that you would still consider becoming my wife." WHOA! Tara thought she was going to sit down right there on the path. "I know your life is over here, but you know you can easily come back and visit any time you want. We can even spend summers over here if you'd like between terms," he continued. She looked up at him again. "You don't have to give me your answer right away, my love. Just know that I am here for you." In silence, they continued their walk, and just before they were about to go into Tara's mother's house again, she grabbed his hand and stopped walking. "Yes," she said. 

Joan was finishing the last of the dishes when she noticed them outside in a tight embrace. What's going on? she wondered, but had a feeling about what was happening - and she wasn't the telepath. They came in, and even Severus had a bit of a glow despite the lack of color he had due to so much time spent in the dungeon. Tara was positively radiant. "Mom -- we're engaged!" 

"Oh!!!!!!!" Joan hugged her daughter close. "So you can stop bugging me about settling down now!" she teased. 

Joan flew into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of champagne. She hated opening champagne; it always frightened her, so she always had Tara do it, but this time, Severus took it. "Allow me," he said, and took out his wand and opened it that way. The cork popped, and bounced against an adjacent wall. Joan took some fluted glasses out of the cupboard, and they had a toast. 

"Welcome to the family, Severus," Joan said, raising her glass. They all clinked glasses and drank. What a day. Finding out she wasn't really a true muggle, and now she was engaged. This was the happiest moment that Tara could remember. It would not be her last. 


	17. Chapter 17: The return to Hogwart's

**

Chapter 17

**

Severus and Tara returned to Hogwart's the following weekend, after spending some time with Joan. They were deciding where and how to plan the wedding, what Tara would do with her house in Fremont, and where they might stay when they came to the USA for summers. There was so much to think about! They planned to marry the following Christmas. That gave them a year which was about right. 

When they arrived at Hogwart's, they went immediately to see Albus Dumbledore, to give them their news. He was happy for them, and happy that Tara wasn't upset at him for not telling her about her father. 

"I've kept in touch with your mother for years. We knew we'd tell you when the opportunity presented itself. I'm relieved you aren't upset with me for not telling you." 

"No, why would I be? I was kind of mad at Sev at first; I thought he knew, but then the way he and my mom explained it to me...how could I be upset? I feel like I fit in around here now! But, I don't know if we ought to tell the others yet. They might expect me to do things and I truly can't. I think my power is that of a 20 watt bulb..." 

"Well, you have a lot of power over me," Severus told her, squeezing her hand. Albus leaned forward to see her ring. "Oh, you've given her an Atlantis Opal. Is that the one that has been in the Snape family for generations?" Severus nodded, and admired the swirling of the stone. 

"You know that on a muggle, the colors are still, right?" 

"Yes, we showed her." 

"Congratulations, you two. Where will you live once you wed?" 

They explained their intentions, that they would live in the USA in between terms and at Hogwart's during the school year. "Which leads me to my next issue," he said, opening a drawer. He took out the folder Tara had given to him prior to leaving for Thanksgiving the month before. It was her computer course outline. "This outline is very complete, and I have reviewed it with Professor McGonagall, and we feel that this should be more than just a four week section in Muggle Studies. How would you feel about teaching a class as a regular member of our faculty?" Tara's eyes widened, and she smiled. "Really? You're serious?" Albus smiled, pleased at her reaction. "Yes, if you want. This term coming up, we'd have you teach the 4 week section, but starting next fall...Computer Studies. What do you think? Since you'll be living here, that all fits into place." 

"Well of course! I'd love to. Did you know anything about this?" she asked turning to Severus, who shook his head. "Of course not. For someone who's shown signs of a telepath, you're a little off lately," he told her. She started to get mad, but he tweaked her nose which immediately disarmed her. "Just teasing you, my dear. My goodness," he said softly. 

At the dinner that night, the students had returned to the school. Dumbledore stood up with his goblet. "I have an announcement to make," he said, getting everyone's attention. A hush fell over the great room. "I trust everyone had an enjoyable holiday. We have a couple of faculty members who have become engaged over the holiday. Professor Snape and Miss Hall have announced their engagement!" he said raising his glass high. Tara had no idea he was going to announce this. She leaned forward to look at Severus, who looked at her, and stood up. He held his hands out to her, and she got up and walked over to him, amongst applause, then she went back to her place at the table where Minerva and Madame Hooch were chatting excitedly. "You didn't tell us!" M exclaimed. Tara shrugged. "I was waiting for you to notice the ring," she said, showing them. Both women noticed the same thing. The opal was swirling. 

"Is this an imitation Atlantis? They don't swirl on muggles--" M began, and then showed Minerva. "It must be...oh wait, no...this is the one that Severus has had in his family...it can't be--unless Tara is--" Minerva looked at Tara, who was smiling. "I found out my father was a wizard!" she said. M threw her arms around Tara. "Oooo I just _knew_ there was something about you that wasn't just muggle!" 

"Who was your father?" Minerva asked. "Thor...Beringer. My mom took back her maiden name after he died, and since I wasn't showing any sign of being anything but a muggle. I guess I'm a dilute witch, so to speak." 

"Dilute witch. I like that," Minerva mused. 

"I'm a little bit telepathic, but that's about it. And it isn't real steady or anything. Frankly, I'd rather not read minds; I have trouble enough keeping track of my own thoughts, let alone anyone else's." 

"Good point. Congratulations. Now we must get you moved to sit next to your fiance, don't you think?" Minerva said, glancing from where Severus sat to where Tara was. 

"I'll miss you though! I like our 'girl talk.'" 

"Yes, but the proper place is to be next to your fiance. We'll make the arrangements, and heavens, there will be plenty of opportunity for 'girl talk!'" M convinced her. "Don't tell anyone I'm not a muggle," Tara said. 

"Why not?" Minerva asked. 

"Well, I haven't quite adjusted to it yet, and I kind of want to wait until I'm ready. I don't want anyone to expect me to whip out a wand and start casting spells or anything." 

"Your secret's safe with us. But anyone who knows about the Atlantis opal--" Miss Hooch began. "I'll deal with it if it does," Tara assured them, "like I have here." 

That evening, Tara was seated at Severus's right hand, and everyone just moved down one seat. "When the music stops, sit," Tara muttered. "Oh, it's a muggle game," she said to Severus's puzzled look. 

That night, they went to the storage room so Tara could play some music, and it was a magical evening. He walked her back to her room around midnight, her usual bedtime. 

"I'd like to try that muggle cookbook you gave me," he told her. 

"You would? When?" 

"Well, how about Saturday evening?" 

"Okay. What are you going to make for me?" 

"Hmmmm probably one of the recipes that has one of those little red stickie flags on it. Seems to me those are strategically placed by..._someone_." It was true. Tara had gone through the book, cover to cover, marking several recipes that sounded good to her. 

"Okay it's a date." 

"Good night, my Tara," he said and kissed her. She wasn't getting over the dizziness that his kisses caused her. He was worse than floo powder in some ways. 

"Good night, my dark wind." 

"Dark wind?" 

"Well, you move so quickly sometimes, you make a wind...and you're dark..." she blushed. "I'll try to do better than that." He kissed her on top of the head. "That would be nice," he whispered. 

They parted and she closed the door behind her, and sighed. Everything had changed for her. It was a good thing, she decided, crawling into bed. Definitely a good thing. 


	18. Chapter 18: Some magical evening

**

Chapter 18

**

The first week back flew by. Tara had a lot of work to do and was upgrading memory in all of the computers, school wide. It had gotten so inexpensive, and once Dumbledore had his memory upgraded, he noticed such a difference, he ordered it for all of the machines. She was in the Slytherin house and the kids there enjoyed the music she brought with her. "Who is this?" one boy asked. "It's a band called Ever Clear. Good jam, huh?" "Yeah, this _rocks!_." "You can download it, you know." "I _can?_?" She started up the PC she had just upgraded, and walked up to where he was sitting. He was working on one of the machines, playing a game. "Oh, I see you've found 'Quake.' I've never played it but I have heard all about it." She showed him a few sites where he could go download music to play on the computer. A few of the other kids in the house came to see; they were very excited about this. 

That evening when Severus escorted her to dinner, he complained of a headache. "The students in my dorm have discovered how to download music. Some of it is all right, but this so called music where guys are yelling obscenities to a beat that shakes the walls..." he cursed under his breath. "Oh, rap. Yeah, that stuff sucks," she said. "I don't know how they found out how to get music, but then they are Slytherins..." he said. "Yes, that must be why," she said, trying very hard not to crack a smile. He looked at her strangely. "Don't tell me...we have you to blame for this new found...skill?" "Um, well, I didn't know they would download that crap. Why don't we come up with a rule to ban such music being played here? We're faculty, we make the rules, right?" she suggested. "After all, we did have to ban them from looking at porn on the web and I had to install all of that parental control software. We could do the same for this crap they're downloading. We'll have to talk to Albus." 

She did have solutions for handling situations, Severus observed. He admired her resourcefulness and never-ending show of intelligence. 

Saturday night came, and she met him in his quarters for dinner. She was a red gown and the way it contrasted with her dark brown - almost black - hair was quite stunning. He poured her a glass of wine, and she sat down at the small table, which he had adorned in white linen. The silverware was neatly laid out, and a crystal vase held a single red rose. 

"Great table setting," she commented. "You sure I can't help?" 

"I am cooking dinner for _you_, so no. You just relax. You've been crawling around under desks all week doing things to those machines. You must be tired." 

"Sort of." He had lit many candles in sconces around the room. The lighting was very romantic, and whatever he was cooking in his small, make-shift kitchen smelled great. Soon, he brought over salads, and sat down. 

"We'll start with a salad," he told her, and produced a container of dressing he had obviously made, and poured it on both salads. Tara put her napkin in her lap and took a bite of salad. "Mmmmm I know this one - I marked it! I had no idea it would taste so amazing!" The salad was greens with sliced pears and diced fennel with a balsamic dressing. The effect of the tart dressing against the contrasting sweet pears was amazing. "Oh Sev, this is delicious!" 

"Yes, it is. I didn't know it would be this good. I don't mean to brag or anything, don't misunderstand." 

"I'm not. This is great though. I could eat this every day!" 

The next course was a soup made of carrots, onions, ginger, and cinnamon. It was thick and hearty and so tasty. The Riesling which he had chosen to go with it was perfect. The next was the main course; salmon topped with fruit salsa and mashed sweet potatoes. It had to be one of the best meals Tara had ever eaten. Afterwards, he brought two stemmed glasses with fruit. He had poured brandy over them and with a wave of his wand, they were flambe. "Whooa! Cool!" Tara said. The flames extinguished, and they ate their berries, looking longingly into each others' eyes. 

"Come closer," he said. She scooted her chair to sit right next to him. He took a strawberry out of his glass of berries and fed it to her. Following his lead, she grabbed her glass of berries, and fed him a raspberry. A few berries later, she was getting very warm and tingly. She knew she probably wouldn't be able to stand if she tried. He picked up his glass of wine and she did the same. They touched the glasses together and sipped, then their lips met, and she could taste the wine and the berries when they kissed. He stood up and extended his hand to her. "Come on," he whispered, and led her to the bed... 

When Tara came to, it was still dark. The candles illuminated the room. Where - oh yes but why had she fainted? Then she remembered the intensity of their lovemaking. His kisses rendered her dizzy; but his lovemaking literally had knocked her out. There was a cloth on her forehead, and she took it off and turned, seeing Severus leaning on one elbow under the covers, looking at her. 

"Was it good for you?" she asked him. "You are too much. Are you all right? You fainted dead away after you uh--" his voice trailed off and he held her close. She was so soft against him, she was the best feeling to him. It had been such a long time since he had been with anyone. 

"I fainted. I can't believe I fainted. It was just so intense, I blacked out! Is this normal?" she asked. He shook his head. "I don't think so, but perhaps. Since you have a bit of muggle in you." Tara wondered if that would always be the case and asked him if he thought so. "I have no idea." 

Tara laid back again. "Well, you know the bright side is...you'll always know that if I don't pass out, I must be faking!" 


	19. Chapter 19: Plans are made

**

Chapter 19

**

Things were going well for Tara. She was teaching her section on computer science, working on the web site, and spending her evenings and weekends with Severus. They realized their romance had moved quickly; they had only known each other 6 months and they were engaged, but that's what long engagements were for. 

Friday or Saturday night one would always cook for the other, and they would spend the night together. They were discreet about it for the students' sake. 

The wedding was going to be at the Palace of the Clouds, where most magical people preferred to be married. It was literally in the clouds and only accessible by broomstick. 

One Saturday, Severus took Tara to Diagon Alley to go to a wedding outfitter, Madame Poindexter, to talk about their attire, arrangements, and the like. 

"Have you decided on what you would wear? Since you are a muggle, do you want to go with a muggle look?" she asked, peering through her spectacles down her long, pointed nose. As far as most of their world was concerned, Tara was a muggle; they hadn't said otherwise. 

"I'm not sure. I haven't thought at all about what to wear - I don't know what is traditional for this kind of wedding. Have you thought about it?" Tara asked Severus, who shook his head. 

"I thought we should both decide, since it's our day," he told her, and then looked to Madame Poindexter. "Go ahead," he said. Go ahead and what, Tara wondered. Madame Poindexter fished a wand out of her drawer and Severus stood in front of a three way mirror. 

She waved the wand and POOF. Severus was dressed in all white flowing robes. "No," Tara and Severus said, together. Another wave, and Severus was in emerald green knickers with a long coat with tails. "Oh God," Tara exclaimed. Severus made a face. "Nice legs though," she teased. Different colors were tried next, but the knickers had to go. 

"What about this..." POOF! Severus was in a muggle black tux, red cummerbund, looking very handsome but it didn't suit him. 

"Anything but this," he said. 

"I think it looks nice -- but it's not you is it?" Madame Poindexer commented, taking the words out of Tara's mouth. Another wave, and he was in black, velvet robes, with royal blue at his cuffs and collar. 

"Ooooh I like that!" Tara said. It fit. "Nice and dark and moody. Just like my _man!_!" Madame Poindexter smiled, amazed at what this young woman could get away with. Professor Snape must really care for her to let her say such things, she thought to herself. He had quite the reputation for intolerance. 

"Now, for you, my dear," she began, then turned to Severus. "Will you excuse us? It's bad luck for you to see her wedding gown," she told him. 

"Some things are the same as in my world then," Tara observed. "Some," Madame Poindexter replied. She led Tara into another room and set of mirrors, and they tried different combinations that would match what they had chosen for Severus. A royal blue flowing gown with a 7 foot train was the winner. Madame Poindexter accompanied Tara back out to where Severus was waiting. 

"Your attire will be ready in about 3 months, and you'll need to come in for fittings. I'll send an owl to let you know when they are finished," Madame Poindexter said, writing up the order. 

They left her shop, and Severus gave Tara a tour of Diagon Alley. Tara had never been to Diagon Alley but had heard about it. She was fascinated. 

"Do you think I'll ever have any powers of significant use?" she asked, sighing. She felt envious of everything she was observing. 

"I've heard of it happening, we can work on it, if you'd like," he said. 

"Do you think it'll do any good? I don't even have a wand!" 

"We can change that. Olivander's is just up ahead," he said, pointing to a shop a few doors down. 

"Olivander's?" 

"That's where we get our wands," he said, "he's been in the business for centuries. Do you want to give it a shot?" 

"Why not." 

They walked to the shop, and Severus opened the door. The shop was dusty and shelves lined the walls holding long thin boxes. An elderly man came out from the back to greet them. 

"Severus! I understand that you are going to be married, congratulations!" he said, greeting him. 

"Thank you. This is my fiance, Tara." 

"Oh! It is so wonderful that someone finally got through to Severus, here. He's been a tough nut to crack, as you muggles say!" he said, clasping her hand. "So what can I do for you?" 

"Do you remember Thor Beringer?" Severus asked. 

"Thor Beringer--oh yes. He was married to a muggle, charming lady--they had a daughter, I think, who never showed any indication of powers--" 

"Yes. I'm Thor Beringer's daughter," Tara said. Severus took Tara's left hand and showed Olivander the swirling Atlantis Opal. 

"Oh! And you are here to get your first wand. A late bloomer!" he said, breaking into a wide, toothy grin. "But all of the tabloids and news -- nothing is mentioned about her being Thor's daughter--" 

"Well, we're not telling everyone. I don't want anyone to expect me to start being able to do great magical things," Tara explained. 

"But you do great magical things with those computers at Hogwart's," Severus pointed out. 

"Yes, yes. I've heard about that," Olivander said. "Your secret's safe with me." 

"I want to see if anything can be developed; I'm about 27 years late here but..." she began. Olivander turned to her, still smiling. "You never know!" he said. 

Olivander disappeared to the back and came out with a long, thin box. "Try this one," he said, taking a light colored wooden wand out of the velvet-lined box. He handed it to her. She looked at Severus. 

"Go ahead," he said. 

"I don't know what I'm doing!" Tara said. "Wave it, dear," Severus said. 

Tara made a motion, towards Olivander, and there was a huge explosion. Tara shrieked and dropped the wand. Where Olivander had stood, there was a large, yellow tabby cat instead. "OH MY GOD!" she said. Severus took out his wand, muttered "Reversio--" and another poof. Olivander was back. "Well that certainly isn't the right one," he said. Tara picked up the wand and very carefully and slowly laid it on the counter. She was trembling. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she said to Severus. "Nonsense. We have to figure out which is the correct wand for you," Olivander said. 

He selected another, and handed it to her. She was scared to wave it, so made sure she waved it away from anyone. This time, a stream of large, irridescent soap bubbles drifted from the end of it, popping against the walls and in midair. "Oooh that is nice!" she cooed. 

"Not strong enough," Olivander remarked. 

They went through several more. Something like roman candles shot out of one and Tara screamed when the ceiling was briefly on fire before Severus gave a counter curse to extinguish the flames. Another took out the plate glass window in the front of the shop. Still another suddenly dressed Severus in a pair of tight black jeans and a USA T-shirt, and a black leather, studded motorcycle jacket. Tara was amused. "Oooh, Sev--don't you look hot!" she commented. "I guess I was thinking of all of the different outfits Madame Poindexter was putting you in!" she said with a giggle. Severus looked down at what he was wearing and made a face. It obviously still wasn't the right wand for he if it was picking up background thoughts. Olivander countered the spell, and Severus was back in his black robes in a flash. "Damn, I liked that," Tara said. Severus frowned, but was fighting a smile. She was having fun, but he hoped she would not turn him into a fluffy bunny rabbit. After about a half hour, Tara was feeling defeated. "I'm a danger to myself and others," she said wearily. "Perhaps I should wait--" then Olivander suddenly paused. "Wait! I have just the one!" 

Again, he disappeared, and returned with a small wand. This one was translucent royal blue. It was beautiful. "Is this a 'just for show' wand?" Tara asked. "Just try it," Olivander encouraged her. Tara bit her lip and looked up at Severus. "I hope you don't end up in mugglewear again, not that you didn't look delicious in it," she commented, and picked up the wand. The wand began vibrating in her hand at a high frequency and illuminated. 

"That's it! We found it!" Olivander exclaimed, pleased. "I knew I'd find you the right one!" It felt like she was holding something with some sort of gyroscopic action inside it. It was like nothing she had ever felt. 

"Look at her eyes!" Olivander remarked. Tara's eyes were like saucers. Finally, she put it down in the box, and smiled. She took out her money to pay for it, but Severus stopped her. 

"This is my gift to you," he said, plunking some gold coins out on the counter. "Now we'll have to work on your skills, make sure you don't turn me into a lamp or something," he said, using her old fear as a private joke between them. 

They said good day to Olivander and left the shop, and went to a pub. They grabbed a corner table and had a goblet of wine together. 

"This sure is a trippy place, Sev," Tara said. 

"I guess to someone who hasn't been exposed to us for long, it is. Are you happy?" he asked her. 

"Happier than I've ever been," Tara said. They stole a quick kiss in the darkened corner of the pub. "Now promise me you won't go waving that wand around until you've had proper instruction," Severus warned her. 

"After all of that? How could I think otherwise! I was getting scared!" 

"Well get your power evened out so you can at least light candles with it." 

"Think so? I'm afraid I might start a major fire." 

"Fortunately, the castle is made of stone," Severus commented... 


	20. Chapter 20: Tara's lessons

**

Chapter 20

**

Something rubbed against Severus's nose. He was in a deep sleep, uncommon for him, and was trying to come out of it to see what it was. It did it again, and this time rubbed across his face as well. Now he heard a loud purring and remembered he was in Tara's bed. He opened his eyes to see Tara's little, sleek black cat, being very affectionate with his nose and face. Tara woke up just then and smiled at the scene. There was something around his head also, and he saw that Tara's large gray cat was wrapped around his head on the pillow. 

"Nose kisses and a head warmer. That's it, you're definitely accepted," she informed him. He stroked the cat's wiry, shiny coat. "I'm glad they like you. They are terrific judges of character, you know." 

Heidi had enough and jumped off the bed. Henry stood up, stretched, then head butted Severus' hand so he'd pet him. He obliged, then Henry got off the bed in pursuit of Heidi. "Guess that's it then," Severus commented. Tara snuggled up close to him. "Do you think I'll stop passing out one day?" she asked, commenting on their lovemaking the night before, that, as usual, had rendered her unconscious. 

"I don't know. I've been looking for information on this ailment to see if I can brew up something to counter it. It isn't good for you to lose consciousness...so...often..." he said, looking mischievously into her eyes. Her heart leapt when he looked at her that way. "You going to make me pass out so early in the day?" she asked him. "Oh, I don't know. Do you care to?" 

They were late to breakfast. They made a quick entrance into the great hall, and something about the way they bounded in made Dumbledore think of teenagers in love. He had never seen Severus like this, but it was refreshing. After breakfast, they went to one of the dungeons to work on Tara's wand skills. They were careful about where they worked on this so as not to attract attention or cause any damage. Today they were working again on levitation, one of the first skills to learn. Tara stared at the large white feather on the table before her with frustration. No matter what she did, she hadn't managed to make it move in days. Finally, she put her wand down in frustration. 

"I think I must be a...what do they call it. A squib," she said miserably. 

"No, remember last week when you raised it?" Severus reminded her. The week before, it had been so easy. She made the proper motions and was delighted to see the feather quiver, then rise before her and float around the room. She was so excited, it suddenly dropped, not before bursting into flames. 

"Yes, the fire made it particularly dramatic," she said. "How come I'm on one day and off another?" 

"That seems to be the behavior of your power so far. Come on, try it again." 

She frowned and, chasing stray thoughts from her mind, picked up her wand once again, and felt its resonance. Oh wait, it's going to work this time. Sure enough, the feather swept nicely off of the desk and into the air. This time, she was able to land it without incident. That was the first time she was successful. Her eyes were huge as she put the wand down, and she clapped her hand over her mouth. Severus hugged her. "See? You can do it. Now what were you thinking just before you picked up that wand again?" 

"Nothing. I just blanked out and when I picked up the wand, I felt its power." 

"There's your key. You cleared your mind. I think you get too much noise that limits your ability. You need to learn to channel it. Try it again." 

"What if I can't--" she began. 

"Don't...just do it." 

Once again, she cleared her mind and picked up the wand. The resonance was there once again, and she was able to lift it. But then her concentration broke as her excitement grew, and it fell. She re-focused and was able to catch it and land it nicely again. She was ecstatic! 

"Nice save," Severus commented. "Yeah! I lost it but then I just did that clearing thing again! Oh this is so cool! I can lift a feather!!! 

"And this time there were no small fires to put out," he commented. He gave her a book that the first years used on incantations and spells. "I think it's time for you to start reading this. Reading it! Don't try anything unless I'm with you," he told her, almost scolding. 

"Believe me, I'm scared to death to try anything unsupervised," she told him. 

"That's good, that should keep you out of trouble then." 

"Know what I want to learn though?" 

"What's that?" 

"How to light up a room and make a fire. Like when I go to the storage room to play. It is so cold in there, sometimes my hands are numb, so it's tough to play." 

"That involves fire..." he began. 

"I know, but it's just an eventual goal. Am I reaching for the stars?" 

"No, but you might not be ready for that for a while." 

"That's okay, I have nothing but time. I want to learn properly," she told him. 

"I wish all of my students had your attitude towards learning, it would make my job a lot easier." 

"That's another thing. I want to learn potions. I think I'd be far less dangerous with a cauldron than with a wand. I want to learn all of this; I have a lot of catching up to do. Do you know that everything I know about the computers, programming, and all of that - I taught myself? So I know I can learn anything." 

"You taught yourself?" 

"Yes. I read a lot. Like that young lady, Hermione Granger. She and I are cut from the same cloth, I think." 

"No, I don't think so. You don't annoy me the way she does," he said with a smirk. 

"She's a little precocious, but very bright. You have to admit that, Severus." 

"I suppose." 

"You don't like kids do you?" 

"That's not true, I like some children. Just not most. If there was a way for them to appear on the Earth around 25 years old...but that's not how it works." 

"What about...you and I?" she asked. They had never discussed a family, and she figured she'd better find out now how he felt about them. 

"I think I'm a bit old for it. But, if it happened, I think it would be...interesting." 

"Yes, I'm getting a little old for it too, but I'm told it's no problem late into my 40s to bear children. But then again, there are two of us in the relationship. I figured I'd never get married again, let alone have children. But...I'd love to have your baby, Sev. If it...happened." 

"What would our child be like?" he asked her, looking a bit amused. She was relieved to see that he was at least entertaining the thought. "Intelligent...feisty..." he began. "Moody!" she teased him. 

"I never thought I might be a...father...but I never thought I'd get married either. We'll have to wait and see. I'm not opposed to it." 

Tara was satisfied, and felt a wave of relief wash over her. "Now we just have to fix my passing out thing during acts of procreation," she commented. They went to the library's restricted section to search on the subject matter. The subject eluded them. 

"Perhaps we should talk to someone--" she began. Severus gave her a dark look. "I don't want to discuss _that_ with anyone!" he began. 

Typical male response to counseling, Tara thought, sighing. "Sev, it's not a crime, and whoever we talk to - they have professional ethics where they don't disclose private information about their patients." 

"Maybe in the muggle world they don't..." 

"You mean they don't do that here? They don't have counselors for wizards and witches with emotional or psychological problems?" 

"Well, yes but..." 

"I think we need to go see one. If you won't go, I'll go alone," she said. 

"Is that a threat?" 

"Sev, you know me better than that. I will seek counseling on my own then. I don't think it's healthy for me to keep passing out every time we do it. I mean it's great that you have that effect on me...to a point." 

"All right, I'll go too," he said with a heavy sigh. 

They were able to find a counselor who specialized in marriage and family, and she had a cancellation on Tuesday and could see them that soon. Her office was in Diagon Alley. Tara was excited to be going there again; she found it fascinating. 

Dr. Katarina VanGuard was a tall, thin woman with her graying dark hair pulled into a bun. She wore wire rimmed spectacles and flowing maroon robes. She introduced herself, and let them in her office, which was devoid of any kind of chairs. Large pillows and velvet bean bag chairs adorned the room. A fire burned in a large stone fireplace. Dr. VanGuard sat down on a stack of large pillows. 

"Wherever you two feel comfortable is fine," she said. Severus and Tara looked at each other hopelessly. Tara grabbed some pillows and did as the Doctor had, and Severus looked at a huge velour beanbag chair, and picked it up to arrange the filling, then sat down in it, and sunk. It was quite an amusing picture. He frowned and got up to try to arrange the filling so he could sit in a more upright position, and sat again. Once more, he sunk. He gave up and grabbed a stack of large pillows and sat upon them. Tara was fighting laughter, and the Doctor was smiling. 

"So, what brings you two to see me?" she asked. 

Tara looked at Severus expectantly, and he looked at her. "We uh--" Tara began. 

"She is having trouble, I mean, not trouble exactly..." he said simultaneously. 

"Okay one at a time. What trouble?" 

"Well when we do it, I faint." Tara said simply. 

"You faint?" 

Tara nodded. "It's wonderful, I mean, he is magnificent, and when I uh...reach my...climax...it is so intense, the edges get blurry and I'm out. It's really quite annoying, and I think losing consciousness 3-4 times in one evening is--" Severus cleared his throat loudly, and Tara looked at him, and saw color in his cheeks. He looked at her dangerously. 

"Three to four times in one evening? My goodness. I think you two have quite a healthy sex life if you are making love three to four times a night!" Dr. VanGuard commented. 

"We don't do this every night," Severus commented. 

"No, but when we get together on weekends, by Monday I can hardly walk!" Tara blurted. 

"Tara..." Severus said, putting his face in his hands. 

"Professor, your experiences won't go beyond these walls," Dr. VanGuard said. 

"See, I told you!" Tara said. 

"I realize that, I'm not used to discussing what you and I do in private--and how many times." 

"Most men aren't and it's like pulling teeth to get the men to even come to see me with their partner." 

"We were wondering if it's because I'm half muggle. I thought I was a...squib...until recently. So I thought it was a symptom of a muggle and non muggle copulation or something," Tara said. 

"We haven't been able to find any information on it, else I could make a potion to counter it," Severus mentioned. 

"I'm unaware that there is any type of reaction. Have you had a medical checkup lately?" she asked Tara. She shook her head. 

"I think you need to do that. Do you ever get lightheaded when exerting yourself in exercise?" 

"Oh no. I climb 10 flights of stairs all the time to get up to my quarters. I used to smoke and it killed me then, but now, I just run on up. Good for my legs too," she commented. Severus gave her a mischievous look. "Yes, I know," he said, wanting to whisk her off somewhere. Tara returned the playful look and the doctor cleared her throat. 

"Well it sounds like you are just having a very...good...experience. But, I am going to refer you to someone to make sure there isn't anything physically wrong." She took out a small pad of paper and scribbled a name, and handed it to Tara. "Dr. Lazaraus Lithgow?" she asked, deciphering the scrawl. Dr. VanGuard nodded. "He is specialized in treating mixed blood. Are you on any medication? I forgot to ask you that." Tara nodded. "I take 20 mg of prozac every day." Dr. VanGuard took off her spectacles. "There is your trouble," she said. "I bet the Prozac is mixing with your non-muggle blood somehow that is causing you to pass out at the point of...climax. Prozac works with the chemicals in your brain and suppresses certain things. It can cause dizziness in some." 

"Yes, I saw that on the label. But when I'm not taking Prozac, life is not good." 

"Perhaps there's a potion..." Severus suggested. 

"Oh! Of course!" Tara said, squeezing his hand. 

"My dear, you forget who you're with sometimes," he said slowly. 

"Yes, I definitely do." 

"Tara, I still want you to see Dr. Lithgow just to make sure, before you go off your Prozac. Follow his advice on that," Dr. VanGuard advised, "we do have equivalents to Prozac that may work." 

They finished their session and were near Dr. Lithgow's office, so they made Tara an appointment for the following Friday. 

"It sure is easier to get appointments here than at home. It's like 6 weeks for most medical professionals to see new patients," Tara commented. 

"Welcome to my world," Severus purred. They walked down the narrow alley hand in hand. 

"So maybe we shouldn't do it until I see the doctor on Friday then," she said. "It'll really suck, but..." 

"We can show some restraint," he said. "Yeah, I know, but it'll suck!" Tara interjected. "We can manage," he told her. 

Friday came soon enough and Dr. Lithgow confirmed what Dr. VanGuard had suggested. He prescribed three strengths of a drug called Wizac (Prozac for Wizards and Witches), and a lesser strength of Prozac and said to start the first strength the next day while continuing the Prozac. She would do that for one week, then go to the second level of Wizac and take the lesser dosage of Prozac the second week, and the third week, the third and final level of Wizac and drop the prozac. 

"It could take up to a month to start working." 

"So I'll still be fainting when my fiance and I--" 

"Initially, but that will eventually go away. I want to see you again in 6 weeks to see how you are doing." 

"Does this mean we should abstain?" 

"Not necessarily. Go about your normal life." 

She went out to the waiting area where Severus was. He was happy to hear the news. They went to a pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions, and they returned to Hogwarts. That night, he made dinner for her in his quarters, and she stayed with him. 

News of the romance between Severus and Tara wasn't really news; but soon the rumors of a wedding were confirmed. Severus had to speak to his students in several of his classes to maintain authority. 

"I know that you have heard about a certain event that is going to happen next year. What I don't want is for it to distract you from what you are doing in this class. Unless you want to accidently turn your classmates into animals or have other things go wrong, you must remain focused on what you are doing, not what is going on in my personal life. It doesn't take away from my concentration, and it will not. Is this clear?" 

The students were somber and nodded in agreement. His delivery had sobered them, and it was true; when dealing with possibly unstable solutions, one could not lose their concentration. He had never lost anyone yet to an accident, and didn't want to start now. 

He glanced over at his computer in the corner and saw that it had a solid blue screen with some message on it. What was that? He was giving his lecture, then had the students working on a formula he challenged them to write, and he went over to investigate. Fatal Exception Error. What was that? It said hit any key to continue. He hit a key and got the same screen again. Control-Alt-Delete had no effect. He'd have to have Tara come and fix it. When class was over he asked Draco Malfoy if he had time to fetch Tara to fix his computer. 

Tara was writing code when a knock came at her door. She got up to open it and there was that strange looking kid, Draco, standing in front of her, from the Slytherin house. He was the only kid in his house who didn't have terrible teeth, but he was pretty strange looking, with a pointy face that made her think of a rodent, or perhaps like something out of the old TV show _The Munsters_. But he was polite to her. 

"Professor Snape's computer has a blue screen," he explained. 

"He didn't hit control-alt-delete?" Draco shrugged. "I don't think he wants to deal with it. He asked for you," he said a little slyly. "Okay. I'll be right there." This is why she needed an assistant sometimes. To have to go all the way down to the dungeon. She made a point not to go there if he had students because of the obvious tittering going on about their engagement. 

Ten minutes later, she quietly slipped into the dungeon. Severus was in the middle of a tirade at one of the students, and didn't notice she had come in, right away. She went to the computer, and hit control-alt-delete and the screen went dark. 

"Furthermore, Mr. Potter--" Severus stopped, hearing the computer beep as it rebooted. He turned to see her there. He was so furious at his student, he had somehow missed her arrival. He acknowledged her silently, then went back to chewing young Mr. Potter a new one. Tara wondered what he had done to deserve such harsh words. He was the dark haired kid with the lightening-shaped scar. She had heard that he had fought off some big bad guy when he was a baby and was raised by muggles, but was a very powerful, talented wizard-in-training. 

The computer was coming back up and she decided to run some diagnostics on it to make sure there were no viruses or corrupted files causing trouble. It was time consuming but it would save her time in the long run - to not have to come all the way down from her tenth story quarters. Tara looked up sharply as she heard Severus rip into young Mr. Potter again. This time it was unprovoked. She was getting mad now. 

After the class let out, she sat silently, finishing up with the computer. She hadn't said a word. 

"Is it all fixed?" Severus asked, strolling over, starting to reach for her shoulders. 

"Just about," she snapped, not looking up at him. He drew his hands back. 

"What's wrong?" he asked. 

"What's wrong? You ask me what's wrong? I should be asking _you_ that." 

"Well, nothing is wrong. Why do you ask?" 

"Why were you all over that poor child? He didn't do anything and you were sitting there tormenting him. What did he do?" 

"That poor child is our celebrity, Harry Potter..." he began. 

"What _is_ your problem?" Tara was terribly upset. "You don't like him?" 

"It's not that..." 

"I just can't figure you out sometimes. I heard you are a brute to your students, and I've ignored that, given you the benefit of the doubt, but you know what? You are! It's true!" 

Just then the diagnostic program concluded and she exited out of it. 

"There, it's fixed. See ya." 

She turned and quickly left the room, tears blurring her eyes. She had never seen this side of him, and it scared her. What if they had kids? Would he be a son of a bitch to them? She ran up the stairs 2 at a time, and then almost fell because the staircase swung to change. Oh man. She hung on for dear life. She hated it when they did this, especially now when she wanted to get to her room as quickly as possible. She eventually got back to her room and there was an instant message from SSPM. Severus Snape Potions Master. 

He wanted to see her to discuss what had happened. She typed back to him. "No, I'm very upset. I have never seen you like that and I can't talk to you right now." She ignored messages after that from him, her mind reeling. She needed to talk to someone about this. She thought it was all heresay but no, it wasn't. What if she got him mad at her and he treated _her_ like that? 

Better to find out now than after the wedding, she thought, miserably. 

Tara felt her world coming down around her, as she buried her face in her hands... 


	21. Chapter 21: Blizzard

**

Chapter 21

**

Tara took her meals in her quarters and stayed away from Severus. She was feeling miserable but didn't know what to do about the situation. Madam Hooch was continuing where Severus had left off; teaching Tara how to utilize her powers, which she was starting to get a hold on, and as Tara's friend, had tried to get her to talk but to no avail. 

Severus had come to see her several times but she wouldn't open the door to talk to him, and he respected her privacy so he didn't unlock the door himself to go in. But he was certainly depressed--days went by, then a few weeks. He was in a foul mood, snapping at his students even more than usual. Tara refused to come to the hall for meals, or leave her quarters unless it was necessary, and she would not speak to him. She had decided she wanted nothing to do with him, although she cried herself to sleep every night. It just seemed the best way to handle things. Her mother was very disappointed and upset for her, but agreed that it was better to find out before the wedding than after. 

One snowy, stormy evening in early March, Tara went down to the storage room to play the piano. It had been weeks since she ventured out; she didn't want to take the chance of running into Severus, but she figured enough time had passed, so he probably wouldn't be looking or listening for her there. She unlocked the door and then said "lumous" and lit the room with her wand. She was very proud of that ability which had not so long ago been a distant goal. She played for about an hour and then the door blew open behind her. Damn door...she thought and whirled around, startled to see Severus standing in the doorway, looking at her intensely. The snow was blowing in and Tara shivered. 

"Either close the door or leave, or both," Tara said sternly. She looked at the fireplace and muttered, pointing her wand at it and a fire began burning. Severus looked stunned. He closed the door behind him, stepping towards her. 

"I must be drunk..." he muttered, "because I just saw something I can't believe. You just made a fire without damaging anything. Am I seeing things?" His words ran together and she saw that yes, he was drunk. He produced a bottle of red wine and a goblet from beneath his cloak and sat down beside her on the bench. She scooted over, away from him. 

"Why won't you come to me?" he asked her, making a pained face. 

"I don't want to anymore." 

"Why the hell not?" he asked, pouring himself some wine. 

"Because! The way you talk to the kids is appalling. I don't want to marry someone who is going to act like that to our kids one day..." 

"What's that got to do with it? If we have kids, those are ours. I wouldn't talk to them like that..." 

"How do I know that?" 

"You'll have to trust me." 

"Severus, I don't know if I can. It really really rubbed me the wrong way that one day--knocked my feet out from under me so to speak." 

"I can't understand why, that's just my teaching...style." 

Tara shook her head and hit a minor chord. 

"I think it's too late," she said, and started the opening chords to an old Carole King song, It's Too Late. 

She stopped, just where the vocals would start and looked at him. He was absolutely ripped. She had never seen him like this. 

"I don't suppose you have one of those cigarettes, hmmm?" he asked. 

"No. You don't want to do that anyway," she said, wondering why some people would want to smoke when they were hammered. Always seemed like a possible fire hazard to her. 

"Damn. I was hoping you would have one..." he said, his voice trailing off. 

"Nope. I flushed em. Plus, you said your potion would make it so unpleasant if I ever tried it again, I haven't been tempted. So you short circuited yourself there." 

"Hmmmm. Tara, I think I'm feeling sleepy..." he said. 

"Yes, I can see that. Why don't you take yourself up to your quarters and sleep it off?" she suggested, her anger starting to dissipate. There was something about him, being in the same room with her, for the first time in weeks--that was diluting her anger. 

"Only if you help me," he said, a glimmer in his eyes. 

"I'll help you get there if you want. I'd hate to think of you falling down all of those stairs," she said, hating it that she cared. She got up and so did he, a bit unsteadily. "Leave the wine here, you can get it later," she suggested. She put her arm around his waist, and he put his arm around her shoulders and they went out into the wind and snow. 

The warmth of his body and his scent were making her feel giddy as they walked through the courtyard, the snow crunching under their feet. She threw open the door and they went in, and started up the stairs, in silence. Finally, they got to his quarters and he opened the door. 

"Goodnight," she said, releasing her hold around his middle. He didn't release her shoulders. 

"Aren't you going to make sure I am properly...tucked in?" he purred. Oh no. 

"I think you can do that yourself." He made a face, and he released her and sat down. She went to his kitchen area and got him some water. 

"Drink this down, and do you have any of that hangover stuff?" He nodded. "Where? You're gonna need it, babe," she said, and clapped her hand over her mouth at letting "babe" slip. A bright smile lit up his face. "You called me a nice name--a term of endearment," he said. "I think you still love me." 

"No, I don't. Believe me," she said, but wasn't quite sure she believed it herself. She got him the hangover cure and set it beside him. 

"I don't believe you," he told her. She said nothing. 

"I have to go. I'll see you later," she said, turning to leave. He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap. 

"Severus! Don't do this!" she protested. He gave her a hurt look and released her hand. She stood up. "Goodnight, and make sure you take that stuff, else you are going to feel like hell in the morning." 

"I will, Dr. Tara. Won't you please join me for breakfast tomorrow?" he asked. 

"I'll think about it." 

She left his quarters and paused outside the door. Her heart was pounding, she was dizzy, and felt like she was burning up with fever. This would never do. She shook her head and returned to her quarters and lay awake for what seemed like hours...could she have been wrong after all? Was it too late? 


	22. Chapter 22: Moving Forward again

**

Chapter 22

**

The next morning, Tara woke up to sunshine streaming through her window. She looked out at the fresh snow sparkling against the blue sky. It was beautiful. Then she remembered the night before and sighed. She felt a little bit excited about it; in a good way, but that contrasted against the incident that had turned her away from him in a very bad way. But the event didn't seem as bad now for some reason. She remembered he had asked if she might accompany him to breakfast. 

"Henry, what should I do?" she asked him. Henry told her very clearly, "You need to go see Severus." Tara blinked. "What?" she asked. Henry looked at her with his yellow-green eyes and repeated it. "Am I still asleep or did you speak to me?" she asked him. "I've always spoken to you; this is just the first time you ever understood me, I guess," Henry said, in his cat tones. There was a knock on her door. Henry sniffed the air. "That's him now," he informed her. Heidi jumped up on the bed and licked Henry's throat. Tara drew her robe around her and opened the door. Severus was there, looking a bit paler than usual and had circles under his eyes. 

"Look what the cat dragged in," she said, then turned to Henry and Heidi. "No offense," she told them. "None taken, Heidi said, very clearly in her high, feline voice. Severus stepped into the room and looked terrible. 

"Would you accompany me to breakfast?" he asked her. 

"I guess I will. Hey did you hear Heidi just talk to me?" she asked him. 

"Yes. Why?" 

"I've never heard them speak words before." 

"Well she didn't speak words, she just mewed at you the way she always does." 

"You didn't hear her say 'none taken.'." Severus shook his head. "Are you sure you didn't? Henry, say something." 

Henry looked up from grooming Heidi and asked, "What do you want me to say?" 

"See?" Tara said to Severus. 

"See what?" 

"He just asked 'what do you want me to say.' What did you hear?" 

Severus made a face. "Well, you made a cat-like babble at him, and he chattered back at you. You know how he chatters. Just the usual." 

Tara couldn't figure this out at all. "I made a cat-like sound?" Severus nodded. It would be a question for Madam Hooch and Dumbledore. "Severus, I have to get ready - I just rolled out of bed," she said. 

"It's okay, I'll wait," he said and sat down in a large, comfortable chair. 

Tara was at a loss. She gathered up her clothes she planned on wearing, and went into the bathroom to shower and get dressed. Ten minutes later, she was out, and he was in the chair, fast asleep. She sat on the bed and pulled her socks on, then was tying her shoes when Heidi asked, "Should I wake him up?" This was so strange, hearing Heidi's high pitched voice saying words to her. "Yeah, go ahead. Be gentle." 

With that, the sleek, black cat hopped off the bed and went to sit in front of Severus's feet. She looked up at him, and leapt onto his lap lightly. She then began administering nose kisses until he opened his eyes. He looked at her and petted her. "I must have drifted off..." he said. Heidi hopped down and gave Tara a quick sideways glance. Tara nodded at her, approvingly. 

"Didn't you take the hangover stuff?" she asked him. He frowned. "No...I sort of passed out before I got a chance. I have a terrible headache. I'm brewing something that should take the edge off, but it won't be ready for another hour or two." He stood up and offered his arm to Tara, and opened the door. 

"Oh it's so bright!" he said, shielding his eyes. Tara supressed a laugh. "The light is so...so loud..." 

"Don't you have any sunglasses?" she asked, taking hers out of a pocket. 

"No. I never felt a need..." Tara started to picture him in designer frames,maybe some Oakley sports glasses, or no, maybe some Maui Jim's -- and stifled a laugh. "What's so amusing?" he asked. "Oh nothing." 

A hush fell over the hall as they walked in. Dumbledore was pleased to see that they had apparently resolved their differences. The two sat down, beside each other and silently ate their breakfasts. Afterwards, Dumbledore needed Tara to come install some new software for him, and do her rounds to some of the rooms. She arrived with her bag and Dumbledore switched seats so she could 'drive.' 

"Can I ask you about something?" she asked him. 

"Certainly," he said, expecting her to talk to him about Severus. 

"This morning, my cat Henry, spoke to me. I could understand him clearly. I thought I was having a dream or something, but Heidi spoke too, and I can't figure this out." 

"Oh! Looks like you have one of your father's gifts," he commented. 

"What gift is that?" 

"He could speak to some animals, particularly cats. They understood him, and he understood them. He would make strange sounds at them and swore he was speaking to them in English." 

"So that's why Sev thought I was making cat noises? I wasn't talking to them in English?" 

"No, not if you inherited your father's gift. I understand you are getting in touch with your power. I'm proud of you. So, you said that Severus heard you making cat sounds?" 

"Yes. He came to get me for breakfast," she said, simply, her ears growing hot. 

"Looks like you and Severus have mended your fences," he commented. 

"More or less, but we're just acquaintences now, that's all." 

"No wedding in the future?" Tara pushed the CD-ROM into the drive. "Nope. That's history." 

"That is sad..." 

Tara turned to him. He looked genuinely disappointed behind his half-moon glasses. 

"Why is it so sad? Couples go their separate ways every day. I'll get over it." 

"Well, Tara, it's just that...I've never seen Severus so happy. In fact, the only time I've ever seen him seem happy is when he is tormenting one of his classes--" 

"That's precisely the reason why the wedding is off. I observed that one day and it was appalling." 

"Is _that_ why?" Dumbledore was stunned. Tara nodded, and clicked the mouse to install the software that was prompting her for attention. 

"I can't bear to think of how he might treat one of our own children, should we ever have had them." 

"Tara, that isn't how he would treat them. It's just his way of maintaining authority in his classes." 

"What, being a total son of a--" 

"Yes," he said cutting her off. "That is just Severus's way. He doesn't mean anything by it, and most of the students are numb to it by their third or fourth year. I suggest you do the same." 

"I don't know if I can forgive that behavior. He was going at that Potter kid like there was no tomorrow!" 

"And how was Harry reacting?" 

"Well, he didn't seem _overly_ upset..." 

"Precisely. Really, Tara, I think you should give this some serious thought. Severus adores you--" 

"Yes...I know. He was absolutely hammered last night when he stumbled into where I was playing the piano." 

"Hammered?" 

"Blasted. Pissed. Drunk." 

"Our Severus was drunk? I can't imagine it." 

"He was. He even wanted to bum a cigarette but I gave that up long ago, and even if I hadn't, I wouldn't have given him one anyway. I flushed them all down the toilet long ago--" she stopped, realizing she had just confessed to the plumbing problem. 

Albus Dumbledore just chuckled and shook his head. "Well, he really adores you. Please think carefully about this. I think you're the best thing to come along in his life." 

For some reason, his words stayed with Tara as she went about her duties. She ended up back in her quarters, working on the site's interactive database for the library. It was a big job; she was writing the code to talk to the database to make edits when she got an instant message from sspm. 

"Care to join me for a walk?" he asked. 

"I'm in the middle of writing a program; I'll be a little bit. A walk in the snow?" she messaged back. 

"Yes. Or, maybe, a quiet glass of wine over at the Leaky Caulderon later." 

"You sure you want to drink wine after last night?" 

"The potion I was brewing worked. I feel much better." 

"That is good. You looked like death this morning." 

There was a pause, then he typed back, "don't I always?" 

"Not always; you just look like you work in a dungeon is all. Don't you have students right now?" 

"Yes, but they are taking an exam." 

"So you're sitting here messaging me. That must be a sight. Better not crack a smile now." 

"Don't worry, I won't." 

In the classroom, Ron nudged Harry, and they looked over in Snape's direction. He was typing away on the computer, furiously, and had a very amused expression. "I think he's in a chat room," Ron whispered. Harry smiled, then both returned to their test, not anxious to get caught spying on their moody professor. 

Tara arrived an hour later outside the dungeon door, and Severus whisked her away to the Leaky Caulderon. He sensed a peace about her; she no longer seemed defensive towards him as they walked into the pub. They sat down and he got them some wine. 

"So, how was your day?" he asked her. 

"Pretty good. How about you?" 

"Fine...let's cut the small talk. Tara, darling, I miss you very much. It's not like me to overindulge the way I did last night. I heard you playing and listened for a long time, then went upstairs, and well, I guess I was easing my pain..." 

"You were outside in the snow?" 

"Yes. Trying to work up the nerve to come in. Took me a bit of wine to do that." 

"I see." 

"I would love nothing better...for you to come back to me..." 

"All right." 

"I have come to care for you so much--I just can't go on--" he stopped and looked at her. "Did you say--" 

"All right," she repeated, smiling, tears in her eyes. He took her hand and squeezed it, then kissed it gently. He wanted to take her in his arms but public displays of affection were simply not in his nature. "I love you," he said, so quietly that only she could hear. "I love you too, Sev," she told him. 

"I'll try to be...nicer to my students, but I--" Tara shook her head. "No, you can't stop being you for me." 

"Why this sudden change of heart?" 

"You know, I'm a woman. We're an unpredictable lot. Come on now!" she teased. He looked at her with a sly smile. "What is it really?" 

"I told you. I'm as predictable as a cyclone!" she teased, then grew serious, seeing he really wanted to know. "I had a talk with Dumbledore. He told me what I kind of already knew and didn't want to swallow. Something about the way he explains things...really hits home." 

"I'm glad...so you don't think I'm a...brute?" 

"Yes, I still think you're a brute, but your my brute and I love you anyway!" 

A bottle of champagne materialized on the table at that moment, and two crystal, fluted glasses. Tara and Severus looked up in amazement to see Minerva and Madam Hooch, toasting them from the bar. 

"I think we were followed," Tara said. 

"I think so too," Severus said, managing a smile. They toasted their two friends at the bar, then toasted each other. Then Madam Hooch started clanging her glass with a fork, and everyone in the bar followed suit. 

"That means something in this world too?" Tara asked. 

"Yes...but..." 

"But what?" 

The clanging grew louder. Finally, shyly, he leaned towards her and kissed her quickly, and the whole place burst into loud cheering. Tara was surprised to see that he was blushing, and she realized that this must have been a first for him; to show affection in a public place, especially with everyone in the place looking at them. 

They drank their champagne and were congratulated by just about everyone there, and then they were able to slip away. They arrived back at Hogwarts and went up to her room...to be alone. 

Severus closed and locked the door and went over to her, and before either of them knew it, they were laying on the bed, unable to restrain what they had been without for so many weeks. It was the most passionate lovemaking they had ever had, and Tara fully expected to black out when she 'got there...' but she didn't. 

"Sev, I don't think I'm going to pass out..." she breathed. 

"Surely you weren't faking it, I thought you were going to wake the dead..." he said, stroking her cheek. 

"Oh no! Not at all. Must be the Wizac! It's working, and the effects of the Prozac are gone!" 

He held her close, stroking her hair. "This is nice. We finally get to cuddle," she said, winding a strand of his black hair around her fingers. "You know, I have really come to love your hair," she said. 

"You hated it before?" 

"Well I didn't hate it; it just looked like you were constantly having a bad hair day. I remember one morning when I first got here--I woke up and looked in the mirror and my hair was...well I'll put it this way. I needed a hair cut. I looked in the mirror, and oh, no you'll get mad..." 

"No I won't," he purred, squeezing her tightly for a moment. 

"You sure?" 

"Yes. I won't turn you into a lamp or anything..." 

She smiled, remembering her old fear. "Well, I looked in the mirror and said, 'dear Lord I've got SNAPE HAIR.'" 

"You didn't!" he said, amused. 

"I did! I remember having to track down someone to cut it that day and I wore one of my hats. I couldn't be seen with Snape hair!" 

"So, why do you like it now?" he asked her. 

"Cos' it's yours. And I love you," she said. "Sometimes you could use a brush or a comb..." she started, teasing. 

"Don't start," he said rolling over, grabbing her wrists. He pinned her for a moment, his hair in his eyes. Then he did something that was so uncharacteristic. He jutted out his lower lip and blew his hair out of his eyes. It was so comical, she started laughing. "Maybe you should use some clips..." she giggled, and he kissed her, and made love to her again. Again, she did not pass out. 

"I do believe you're wearing me out," Severus said, laying back again. Tara rolled onto her side and rested her head on her hand. "Don't you have a potion for that?" she asked sweetly. 

"I will have to invent one..." 

"Good, cos' you'll need one!" 

The next day, they were on the cover of all of the publications - their public display of affection captured forever. Of course, this was wreaking havoc in Snape's classes, but he did his best to maintain his authority. It would eventually calm down. 

Tara and her mother were back at planning the wedding, and her mother confessed, "I never canceled any of the arrangements that were made. I had a feeling." 

"Gee mom, maybe you're not a muggle after all!" 


	23. Chapter 23: The Crab Feed

**

Chapter 23

**

"Sev! We've got to go to the US next Saturday!" Tara was saying excitedly, waving a piece of paper. He had just finished up his classes for the day and Tara had run all the way from her quarters to show him. 

"What's the occasion?" he asked. 

"It's the crab feed!" She plunked the printed email down on his desk. It was an email from her mother who was on the committee that put on the annual event. 

"He reached for her to give her a tight hug and a kiss. He hadn't seen her since the morning. "I must say I miss you when I don't see you all day," he told her. She smiled. "Now, what, may I ask, is a crab feed?" Severus asked. 

"Oh it's great. Do you like crab?" she asked. He shrugged. "I haven't eaten it in a great while, but it's good." 

"Okay good. I was afraid you were one of those people who can't stand seafood--or is allergic to it. Anyway, you go to this hall and they have all of these long tables--" 

"Like our dining hall?" 

"Um, well, sort of, except that the ceiling is plaster and the walls aren't rock - and the tables are covered with white butcher paper. So you sit down with about 600 people and they bring out salad, then some garlic bread, then big, galvanized vats of crab, and all the wine you can drink. So you just go at it until you can't hold anymore, and that's about it." 

"Six hundred--" 

"Yes," Tara replied, her brown eyes flashing with excitement. "Oh Sev, it is such fun. You get really messy - they have rolls and rolls of paper towels at your table, and I usually bring some premoistened ones--" Severus was making a face, wrinkling his nose. 

"Well, I suppose I could _try_ it. It sounds rather...unsettling - the mess, that is." 

"You just clean up afterwards. No biggee. So, should I have my mom get the tickets?" He nodded. He figured he had to try her customs, and had even agreed to go to the Indianapolis 500 with her two months later. 

The day came, and they had to figure out the time zone difference in order to travel. He came to get her and she saw that he was dressed in his black robes, as usual. 

"You're going like _that?_" she asked. She was dressed in her muggle attire - jeans, an old t-shirt, and atheletic shoes. 

"Why not?" he asked. 

"You'll drag your sleeves right through it - oh Sev, you'll be a _mess_!" she exclaimed. She could already picture bits of crab shells and meat all over his front and sleeves. She glanced at her watch. "No time to change though, and I haven't gotten the hang of the dressing spell yet. I don't want to put you in a tutu or anything by accident. We'd better just go." She grabbed her fanny pack and fastened it around her waist. 

"A _tutu?_?" he asked, as they walked towards her fireplace, which had recently been added to the floo powder network. 

"Well, not necessarily, but I've had some rather strange results learning that. I'd rather not go into it...it's embarassing." Since he and Tara had gotten back together, Madame Hooch and Minerva were teaching Tara some of the more 'girlish' utility spells, and that was one of them, while he was teaching her more traditional spells. 

She threw a handful of floo powder into the flames, which then turned emerald green, and yelled "Muggle Mom's!" and in she went, followed by Severus. They tumbled out at the other end and got up. Tara's mom was already at the event since she was on the committee. Tara's car had been parked in her mother's garage since her departure to Hogwart's. 

"Let's go," she said, taking the key off the hook. 

"We're _driving_ there?" Severus asked. 

Tara rolled her eyes at him. "Yes. We couldn't very well fly there without getting a lot of unwelcome attention, not that we aren't going to get enough of that," she said, eyeing his clothing. "Don't start--" he began, in a dangerous tone. She disarmed him by kissing him, and they went out to the garage. Tara's car was a classic 1966 Corvette Stingray. "Hey - it's a beautiful day, so let's put the top down!" Tara said, taking her wand out of her fanny pack. "Convertamous!" she said and the top folded itself down, and anchored itself. "You're really getting good," Severus commented. Tara beamed as they got in, and took off. She drove through the hills and cranked up the stereo, and was singing at the top of her lungs. She had forgotten how much she loved to drive her car. 

"I feel like a newborn---I feel like a newborn!" she was singing, along with "Filter." She glanced at Severus who clung to the door handle for dear life, his black hair flying everywhere. He looked terrified. She drove up to the hall and parked, which wasn't an easy task since the event was so well attended. She parked down the street from the hall, and unfastened her seat belt and turned to Severus, who was opening his eyes. "Did we make it or did we die?" he asked. 

"Oh puhlease. You ride around on broomsticks where you're from and a ride in a convertible freaks you out?" 

"I'm not used to going up windy roads at 100 miles an hour with a crazy woman driving and singing!" he said, frowning. 

"Oh, but you love me crazy. Don't you?" He made a face at her and unbuckled his seat belt. 

"Shoot, have to put the top up the regular way," she said, "don't want to draw a crowd." She showed him how to help her with it, and they secured the car, then walked to the hall from where they had parked. They were already drawing looks from passers by; Tara looked perfectly normal with her stars and stripes fanny pack fastened around her waist, but Severus, tall and pale in black, looked anything but. 

They walked into the hall and there was a long line. "Is it always like this?" Severus asked. Tara nodded. "They're starting to let people in though. It's almost time for the first feeding. They have 3 feedings, you know." 

"Sounds like a time at the zoo..." 

They were let in and seated at the end of a long table. Tara took out a zip lock bag with several metal implements in it. She laid them out - 2 nutcrackers, a couple of matching picks, and 2 crab forks. 

"Choose your weapons," she said. He looked at her, bewildered. 

"It helps get every morsel of meat out of the crab." 

"You mean we have to...crack it ourselves?" 

"Yep. That's half the fun!" 

Soon, they were joined by several other people and Tara greeted them warmly, and introductions were made. Tara's mom came over to see them briefly before having to run off to the kitchen. The salad arrived first; which was a loose term. It consisted of some shredded lettuce and cabbage and was accompanied by a dish of Thousand Island dressing. Next came the garlic bread, and wine. 

"This is really something," Severus commented. 

"Oh, just wait!" a woman to Tara's left, who had introduced herself as Andrea, said with enthusiasm. 

Several oohs and ahhs were heard behind them, and Severus watched over Tara's head as the servers brought huge vats - some of them steaming - to the tables. Their server cleared large areas on the table and supplied them with cardboard buckets. 

"What is this for?" Severus asked, picking up the bucket. 

"For the shells." 

"He's a virgin, isn't he?" Andrea asked. 

"Yep!" Tara replied, and Andrea grinned at his bewildered look. Color appeared on his face and he looked at Tara, "I'm not--a--" 

"You've never been to one of these. So you're a crab feed virgin." 

"Oh!" 

Tara picked up the folded plastic bib next to her plate and tied it around her neck. Severus followed her lead and Tara had to stifle a laugh. He looked so comical with a plastic bib with a huge crab on it. 

"What?" he asked, his eyes piercing hers. 

"Oh nothing...if they could see this back at Hogwarts--" 

"Let's be sure they don't..." he said. 

Just then, the first large metal dish of crab came. "Here's the cold stuff," the server said, putting it down. Another server came and brought a steaming container, which contained a red broth and crab legs were sticking out of it. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, start your crackers!" Tara exclaimed and everyone within earshot laughed, and Severus looked bewildered again. "It's what they say at the beginning of the Indy 500, and other auto races," Tara explained. 

"He doesn't get out much, does he?" Andrea commented. 

"Nope. I'm trying to change that, show him a bit of the world," Tara commented. Severus cleared his throat and shot a slightly annoyed glance at her. Tara stuck her tongue out at him and served herself some crab, then handed him the spoon. Then she tore several sheets of paper towels off the roll near her and suggested he do the same, then she dug in. 

Severus had to admit, he was enjoying this muggle crab event. He liked watching Tara crack her crab and then display large pieces of the meat she was expertly extracting. It was a messy event, but it was very tasty. Finally, Tara had enough and put her crab tools back into her zip lock bag, and looked across at Severus, and stifled a laugh. It was worse than she had imagined it would be. She had been so absorbed in her devouring of her crab, she hadn't noticed how bad it was. "What is it?" he asked, noticing her expression. 

"How in the hell did you get crab in your hair?" she asked him, and was laughing. He looked annoyed, and crosseyed, working on removing it, then finally smiled slightly. "Did I get it all?" he asked. She shook her head and reached over and brushed it off, and then off his shoulders. He had rolled up the sleeves of his robe, but was wearing a long sleeved shirt under that which he hadn't rolled up, and they were covered with the broth from the crab dripping, and his hands were covered with bits of crab meat and shells. He was always so immaculate; this was so out of the ordinary for him. "Why didn't you roll up those sleeves too?" Tara asked, making a face. He looked at her and shrugged. "Men!" Andrea muttered. "I think we're going to have to hose you down when we get back," Tara commented. 

Joan Hall came over to them, having a little bit of a break. "So did you like it?" she asked Severus. He nodded, and cracked another piece open. "It's a bit sloppy..." he commented, looking at his 'crabby' sleeves. "Yeah mom, I just got the crab shells out of his hair!" Tara laughed. "Now dear, don't make fun of your man," Joan scolded. "But it's so fun to!" Tara said, and Severus gave her such an evil look, but couldn't help but smile at her. 

The evening was great fun and afterwards there was a dance, but Tara was exhausted. They returned to Hogwarts and had to readjust to the time zone all over again. 

"So did you _really_ like it, or are you just saying you did?" Tara was asking Severus. They had both just gotten out of the shower and they were both wrapped up in big, black terrycloth robes with the Hogwarts insignia monogrammed on the front. He toweled her hair and kissed her playfully. "I liked it. I really did." 

"Good. I hope we can do some more muggle things together. I know it's strange for you--" 

"No stranger than your new world is." 

"True. But some things cross over. But then again, this is more of a Northern California thing. If you talk about a crab feed to someone from the middle of the country, they'll look like you're from another planet." 

"It might be fun at Hogwarts," he remarked. 

"Why don't we plan one for next year?" Tara suggested. "Do you think Dumbledore is game?" 

"You'll have to ask him." 

"The way they feed around here - seems like a natural thing to have. And we can use magic, so it wouldn't be such a huge job to do it." 

"Well, talk to Dumbledore; he isn't adverse to new programs; he went with the computer thing, after all." 

"Just think if he didn't..." Tara's voice trailed off. 

Severus held her close to him. "I don't even want to think about that." He couldn't imagine life without her now. It was the strangest but most wonderful thing to ever happen to him, even if it involved being covered with shellfish occasionally... 


	24. Chapter 24: Indianapolis and The Dark M...

**

Chapter 24

**

It was May, and Tara was jazzed. It was Race Month! Instead of wearing her robes she had gotten used to wearing, she donned jeans and racing shirts on a daily basis. On the weekends, she was off to watch practices and Qualifications. Floo powder was coming in very handy! She had hooked up with a wizard household in the Indianapolis area and they were already in the Floo Network, which worked out great. 

Severus missed her though; he couldn't get away since the end of the term was coming and he needed to prepare for that. He did promise to go to the race with her, that last Sunday in May. He was curious about the whole thing. One Monday morning, he had to wake her up to go to breakfast. 

"This time zone thing is messing me up," she told him. "Well, the race is Sunday, so then I'll be back here for a while. But I'm going over there for Carburation Day in the wee hours Friday Morning, since it'll be daytime there." 

"What, praytell, is Carburation Day?" 

Tara's eyes lit up with excitement as she swung her long legs out of bed, and went to grab a Diet Pepsi out of her refrigerator. "It's the last practice, and then there is a pit crew contest. They get the pit crews and they compete against each other. Those are the guys who change the tires and--" 

"I know what a pit crew does," Severus stopped her. 

"You _do?_" she asked. 

He nodded. "I've been doing some research...on the web," he said proudly. 

"Cool. So anyway, that's what happens on Thursday. It's a blast. Then there's a concert afterwards and I like to stand out on the media platform and watch undercover cops bust drunk people." 

"Sounds like loads of fun," Severus said, making a face. "Shall I meet you downstairs and let them know you're running a little late?" he asked her. She nodded. "Probably be best. See you down there." 

She arrived 20 minutes later, with wet hair. Today she wore a shirt she had picked up for that year's race and her IRL hat which was encrusted with pins and had drivers' signatures all over it. Severus was amused. She took off for her trip in the middle of the night Friday (morning), and came back the next day, sunburned and tired. 

"I brought you something, Sev," she said. They were in his room and he was making her some dinner. She pulled out a bag that said Indianapolis Motor Speedway Gift Shop, and handed it to him. He opened it and found that year's race logo on a black t shirt. 

"Thought you might want to go as a muggle. People in the midwest are kind of conservative, even the wizard family whos fireplace I'm using said so. They thought it a good idea if you dress differently just this one time." 

Severus made a face at her, but nodded okay. "Here, this goes with it," she said, handing him another bag with handles on it. He took out a pair of black denim jeans. "I had to guess at your size but you can adjust that with magic, right?" He nodded, looking peculiarly at the black denim he held in his hands. He held it in front of himself and they seemed like they'd fit; he hadn't worn such things before. 

"What's in this box?" he asked, noticing a box in the same bag. 

"Shoes." 

"Shoes?" 

"Yes. You'll have to size those too; I had no idea what size; I just guessed." 

He opened the box and there was a pair of atheletic shoes which were white with gray and red striping, and a pair of white atheletic socks. 

"You going to try it on?" she asked him, and he saw the amusement in her eyes. 

"Later," he said, looking at her sternly. 

"Suit yourself...no pun intended." 

The dinner was just about ready and they ate, then she got up to do the dishes. 

"You don't have to do the dishes you know," he told her. "You can use the incantation--" 

"It'll give me something to do while you put on your muggle clothes to show me," she said, her eyes twinkling at him again. He frowned and gathered up his things and went to change. She hummed to herself, hoping things were going well in the other room. Finally, he came out, walking like he was a little bit uncomfortable. 

"Ooo baby! Turn around!" she said motioning for him to turn around. He turned, his back to her. His jeans were a little baggy in his seat. She frowned, and pulled out her wand, "Hold still," she said, waving her wand, "Alterous seatus!" Severus gave a startled yelp, as the seat of his jeans tightened up and adjusted nicely. "Ooo yeah. Those jeans show off your fine butt. Not bad for a guy in his 50's I must say," she remarked. He turned around again, scowling at her. "When did you learn to do that?" he asked, referring to her alteration. "Oh, a bit ago. Did it hurt?" 

"No. I just thought I was getting...goosed." 

"How are your shoes?" she asked, walking over to him. She felt the toe of his right shoe and could feel his foot snug inside. "They aren't supposed to be that tight, Sev. Sheesh!" she took out the wand again. "Alterous footwear!" She adjusted them a half size and that seemed good. "Is that better?" she asked, and he nodded. "Alterous footwear. That's a new one," he commented. "Well I'm learning that just like in programming, there is more than one way to do it. That's the easiest one for me to remember," she told him. 

The shirt fit him perfectly; she figured it would. "You know, you ought to work out. Then you'd really be a stud," she said. "A what?" "Never mind. You look great as a muggle. Kind of like a grunge guy or something with your hair. Hey--I never noticed _that,_" she said grabbing his left hand. He had a tattoo - it was a skull with a snake slithering through it. She made a face. "What the hell? How come I never noticed that? That is posively _evil!_" she remarked. "I never noticed this before--" "I usually wear long sleeves," he replied. "But not in bed..." she started. "It's usually dark," he said. "True," she agreed. They usually just had candelight during their intimate moments. She examined it again and an unmistakeable shiver went through her. "Why the hell did you get such a disturbing image?" she asked him. He noticed the fine hair on her arm was standing up and saw her visibly shiver again. She obviously hadn't done any reading on the history of her father's--and now her--world. It was so hard to explain, but he was kind of relieved that she hadn't. He knew he would have to explain it to her one day. She was going to be his wife, and she deserved to know. 

"It was a long time ago. I was very young," he told her quietly. "Didn't it hurt like hell?" she asked. "It...hurt...but not all that bad." "I had thought about getting one...but never wanted to have to be forced to live with something forever. If I ever got one, I'd have it where no one would normally see it," she said, dropping his hand, "like on my hip or something," she said, dismissing the subject. "Oh yeah, one more thing --" she said, and drew a bottle of sunblock out of another one of her bags. "You are going to need this. It's SPF 9000 - the strongest I could find." 

He looked at it, then looked at her, and realized she had altered the label from SPF 9 to 9000 to play with him. He looked at her, and she burst out laughing. "Well you've got to admit, you are a bit on the....pale side." 

He sat down uncomfortably. "These trousers are so tight," he said. 

"Yeah, they'll be like that at first. Once you wear them for a bit, they'll loosen up - until you wash them. 

"I feel like I'm being pinched in half." 

"You'll get used to it." 

He sighed. "Can I put on my usual attire now?" 

"I suppose..." she said, enjoying how he looked a moment longer. "Here, I'll help you undress..." she said reaching for him... 

Race day came and Tara was so excited, she could hardly sleep. She and Severus arrived at the wizard family's fireplace and left for the race directly from there. She was loaded up with a backpack with her camera and gear. It was 5 AM in Indianapolis and the gates would just be opening. 

Severus had never seen such an event or so many people. "Now, why are we getting here so early?" he asked her. "To take it all in," she replied, simply. They went to the Infield for some breakfast. They drew some strange looks; even though Severus was dressed 'normally,' his paleness and his hairstyle were not something that was typical to see in Indiana. "I should have put your hair in a pony tail. Then with that awful thing on your arm--you'd look like more like a biker," Tara commented. "A pony tail? I think not..." Severus said, arching an eyebrow at her. They were waiting for their breakfast, standing at a window. The lady brought the two styrofoam plates to the window. "Do you want gravy, hon?" she asked Tara. "No." "What about you, Darlin'?" she asked, looking up at Severus, who wondered why this stranger was calling him "darlin'." "No!" he exclaimed, seeing the thick glop in the ladle which she had positioned over his plate. 

"Thanks!" Tara said, as they went to sit down at a table. "They put gravy on _everything_ here. It is so gross! Hey Mud Turtle!" she said, flagging down a photographer. He came over to them, and set his plate down. "See what I mean?" she commented to Severus, pointing to her friend's gravy smothered biscuits. "You going off about gravy again?" her friend asked. He was wearing a hat that had Tara's company logo on it, and had wire rimmed glasses and a mustache. "Yep. Bill, this is my fiance, Severus," she said, introducing them. They shook hands. "I've heard an awful lot about you," Bill said. 

"Mud turtle?" Severus asked Tara. Bill laughed. "It's from an old W.C. Fields movie. Last year when I was here, we watched it about 3 times at Bill's house. It was so funny, I had to order myself a copy," Tara explained. "Where are you going to shoot?" Bill asked Tara. "The usual spot; front straightaway. Gonna use my seats this time. Will you be out in Turn 1?" Bill nodded. He was a photographer for Associated Press. They chatted and had their breakfast, then parted. 

"Hey Sev, we have to go to the credential office. I almost forgot." 

"How come?" 

"Just come with me. It's good for you to walk a lot. Did you put on the sunscreen?" 

"Yes." 

"Good, come on," she said grabbing his hand. They had to stand in quite a line, and while they were in line, Tara was greeted and hugged by at least 6 different men from various teams. "Is there anyone who doesn't know you?" Severus asked quietly. "Well, I've been doing that website for a while. It's kind of funny..." she said. "Yes, you are like some kind of...celebrity." They finally got to the counter. "Hey Tim, how's it going?" "Great, Tara. What's up?" We're here for his credential; he's my assistant I told you about," she said to the round, dark haired man behind the counter. She gave him her company name again, which he already had and pulled out a card, a plastic holder, and a pin, then some papers for Severus to sign. "ID please?" he asked. Severus nudged Tara. What ID? "Don't worry, I saw you almost leave it at home, so I grabbed it," she said, taking out what looked like a regular California Driver's license with Severus' details on it, and her mother's address. Severus was impressed. He signed the paperwork and was given a credential, which he hung around his neck. "Come on, we gotta go fast now!" she said, and grabbed his hand again, breaking into a run. 

"These shoes are good for running in," he commented, feeling a bounce in his steps. 

"They are running shoes, that's why," she said. They hurried back to the infield, and went into the pits. Severus was fascinated by what he saw there. Brightly painted cars with sponsorship decals were lined up, and they were all so tiny. "How do they get in those tiny things?" he asked her. "Well see that guy over there?" she said, pointing to a small man. Severus nodded. "That's one of the drivers. They have to stay real small and thin. That one has no butt, I don't know how he stands..." she whispered. Severus laughed. The man with no butt spotted Tara, and came to greet her, and his pit crew surrounded her, hugging her. Severus felt like an outsider, but then again, this was _her_ world. 

Soon, the ceremonies started and balloons were released into the air. It was almost race time. Tara and Severus broke away and went up to their seats in Tower Terrace, right on the front straightaway. "Here," she said, handing him some earplugs. "How do I do this?" he asked. She showed him how, then put her scanner headphones on her head. She always rented one of these so she could listen to the teams and broadcast during the race. 

Mary Hulman George made the official "Gentlemen, start your engines!" and the race was on. The whole field roared by on two warmup laps, and then as the pace car exited and the field accelerated, Severus saw tears running down Tara's face. He touched her cheek and she yelled "It's okay, I always do that!" 

Severus had to admit, it was exciting. He didn't think watching muggle vehicles go around in circles for 500 miles would be; but the passing action on the track was exhillerating. There were a few crashes, but no serious injuries. Afterwards, it started to rain. 

"It always does that. Right when the race ends, the rain comes down!" Tara said, as they hurried for shelter. Indiana rain was like a firehose, and they were both soaking wet by the time they got to the Media Center. Severus took Tara's hand and they ducked around a corner, and he took out his wand, and made them both instantly dry. "What the--" both of them looked up to see Bill, looking at them, shocked. He had a beer in his hand and looked at it, then back at them. "Did I just see what I think I did?" 

"Um--uh, what?" Tara stammered. 

"You guys looked like drowned rats a second ago--and what is that in your hand--" 

Severus raised his wand and pointed it at Bill. "Obliviate." He pocked his wand and Bill dropped his beer, then shook his head in bewilderment. 

"Alcohol abuse!" Tara remarked. 

"Whoa what happened? I'm all dizzy," he said rubbing his face with his hands. He picked up his beer which had landed upright, just a bit had splashed out onto the floor. "Hey--what did you think of the race?" Tara looked up at Severus, startled, and he muttered, "Memory charm." Tara nodded in acknowledgement. "It was great," she told Bill. "I think Sev enjoyed it too..." 

"Surprisingly, yes. I didn't think I would appreciate muggle cars going around--" 

"Muggle?" Bill asked. 

"It's one of those British terms. It means - fast," Tara said quickly. The three stayed in the media center until the rain stopped, then went out to the parking area where Bill's car was. "No sense taking off until the traffic has cleared away," Bill told them, handing Tara a beer. He handed one to Sev as well. He looked at the can and at Tara and she nodded to him. "It's a tradition," she told him. 

"You're not from around here are you?" Bill teased. 

"No, you have no idea..." 

They stayed a few hours, until the yellow-shirted parking lot patrol told them they needed to get going. "Another tradition. Stay until the yellow shirts toss us out," Tara commented. "You guys want to come by my house and barbecue?" Bill asked. Tara looked at Sev who smiled. "Sure. We'll stop off and get some stuff to cook..." she started. "No, I've got plenty of chicken and stuff at the house." 

They followed him to his home in Mooresville, which was about 10 miles from the Speedway. "That was a close one in the media center," Tara remarked. "Good thing -- that memory charm." Severus nodded in agreement. "Sometimes a necessary thing." They went to Bill's spacious home and enjoyed a nice barbecue and then had to return to the wizard family's home in Indianapolis to make their return to Hogwart's. Severus had managed to get 2 days off from his classes, but that's as much as he could afford that late in the term. 

They arrived back at Hogwarts, exhausted. Relieved to be back home, they went to Severus's room and he stripped off his t-shirt. Tara stifled a laugh. "What?" he asked. He was very badly sunburned. Tara could see a perfect outline of his shirt against his red throat and red arms. "Shit, you are fried!" she exclaimed. He went to look in a mirror and frowned. "Well this has never happened before," he told her. She went over to him and could feel the heat coming off of his skin. 

"Okay, you must have a potion for this sort of thing." He nodded and said he would have to make some. "There is a book in the library with it. I don't have the recipe up here," he said. 

"I can go get it. You need to get a cold shower to cool all of that off. You are going to have a rough night, I'm afraid," she said. She ran downstairs to the library to search. She found her young assistant, Hermione. 

"Hi Miss Hall, back from your event?" 

"Yep. I bet you can help me with what I'm trying to find...Professor Snape needs a book with a saav potion in it for sunburn." 

"Sunburn?" Hermione asked, with a quizzical look. 

"Yes. It seems the sunscreen I gave him didn't work too well. Your potions master resembles a lobster. Partially my fault; he wore muggle clothing. I don't think he's ever worn a t shirt before--I doubt his arms had ever seen the light of day--" she started, then stopped because Hermione was stifling a laugh. "Snape - sunburned? In a t-shirt?" 

"Yes...so he is rather uncomfortable at the moment." 

"I'll bet. Let's see...that should be over in this section..." she said, leading Tara over to a section which dealt strictly with potions. She helped her find what she needed in 3 different books. 

"What are you reading there?" Tara asked. 

"Oh, just reading about the rise and fall of He Who Shall Not Be Named." 

"About who?" 

"You don't _know?_" she asked in amazement. Tara shook her head. "You really should read up on this. It's important stuff and there were problems last year. Let's see..." she said, going to the history shelf. She found a thick book called "The Deatheaters" and handed it to Tara. "This is a really good one. I read it in my first year here. Helped clear up a lot of questions I had." 

"Thanks. I'll have to read it then," she said, taking it. 

She thanked Hermione for her help and dropped off The Deatheaters in her room, then went back up to see Severus. He was on his bed, wearing his robes, looking miserable. 

"Feels like I'm being scratched alive," he said painfully. 

"You ought to wear something else then. It's going to hurt for a while--you'd probably be better off wearing...nothing..." she started, and he raised an eyebrow at her. "Never mind," she said quickly. "I found 3 books; not sure which one is right," she said, handing him the three books on potions. He flipped through and found what he needed. "Guess I'd better get down to the dungeon," he said, moving stiffly. 

"Yes, I think I'm going to go to bed. I'm exhausted," she said. 

They said goodnight and she went back to her room, and picked up the book she had gotten from the library. She was exhausted, but what she read woke her up. She read about Voldemort, and his followers, and all of the murders he and his followers, the Deatheaters, committed. He was the Charles Manson of the wizard world. Then she read about how their own student, Harry Potter, had survived and weakened, almost killing Voldemort, but he had recently returned to some kind of power. It a fascinating read. 

She then got to the section talking about the Deatheaters and how they were summoned, through something called The Dark Mark. When Tara flipped over the next page, she gasped. There was a drawing of the exact same tattoo which Severus had on his left forearm. It was explained that all of the Deatheaters had this, and when Voldemort summoned them, it would burn and grow even darker. 

Tara slammed the book shut, terrified. I was young, he had said. What did it mean? Tara buried her face in her hands....and stayed awake for a very long time. 


	25. Chapter 25: Conflict

**

Chapter 25

**

Tara was beside herself. The first thing she did the next day was get into London and hunt for clove cigarettes. She was up all night anyway, so it was easy to get out before he came to fetch her for breakfast. True to his word, the experience of smoking again was terrible; but she found the second cigarette was as she remembered it, not horrible tasting as the first had been. She had short-circuited his potion's after effect; Snape must have set the ill effects of it at 1. 

She tried desperately to get on with her normal day, but she was feeling anything but normal. Severus had emailed her several times wondering where she was and if everything was okay. She was scared now and didn't know if she should answer him, pretending nothing was wrong, or to avoid him completely. 

She decided to try to pretend nothing was wrong until she figured out what to do. Avoidance was not entirely possible, and she knew that. He would seek her out wherever she was; she had already been through that. 

She took her place beside him in the Great Hall at dinner time. "I wondered where you were, are you allright?" he purred and put his hand over his. He was surprised to find her hand as cold as ice. 

"I'm fine!" she snapped, glancing at him quickly, averting her eyes. 

"What is it?" he asked. 

"Nothing!" 

"You're as jumpy as a cat..." 

"No I'm not!" she exclaimed, and felt her stomach sink about 200 feet. 

Their meals thankfully materialized at that moment. She couldn't think of eating, and picked at hers. Normally, she was ravenous after a full day of work, and Severus wondered if she was feeling well. She gave up, and stole outside for a smoke. He followed her. 

"Tara, no. Don't tell me you started _that_ again..." he said, seeing her inhale deeply. She blew perfect smoke rings in his direction. There was something terribly different about her...she was so preoccupied with something. 

"Tara--what is going on?" he asked reaching for her. She flinched at his touch, like she was going to jump out of her skin. 

"Nothing!" she said, her eyes flashing with something...nothing short of...fear. She dropped her cigarette and crushed it out with her heel. He drew her close to him and she closed her eyes tightly. Calm. Be calm...she told herself. He realized she was trembling. 

"You're shaking! What is the matter? Please tell me what is the matter!" he said, and held her at an arm's length and looked into her eyes. She immediately looked down, and he raised her chin to make her look at him. Tears glittered in her eyes now, and fear. 

"Let me go," she whispered. 

"But why?" 

"Please, Severus, I need time to _think_ about things!" she exclaimed and he released her. What else could he do. She ran away from him into the darkness. Just then, Albus Dumbledore came to his side. 

"Where did Tara run off to?" he asked Severus. Severus turned to him. "I don't know. She's upset about...something. If I didn't know better, I'd say she is scared about something. Maybe she saw something strange...but I haven't had any signs that _he_ is around..." 

"Severus, I can't help but wonder...how much does she know about the history of our world? Does she know anything of Voldemort?" 

"As far as I know, nothing." 

"Perhaps it's time to tell her. I think that must be the source of her troubled behavior," he said. 

"Why do you think that?" 

"Hermione Granger mentioned to me that she is helping Tara learn more about her new world. She checked out a book called _The Deatheaters._ from the library....to learn about our history." 

"Oh..." Severus used a curse word he rarely used (but one that Tara used in everyday conversation). That was it; it had to be. She had seen the Dark Mark on his forearm, and must have put two and two together. "Know what it is...she saw...my arm. She must know what it...means." 

"How will we explain this?" Severus asked Dumbledore. 

"We'll need to find a way," Dumbledore replied, simply, "before she packs her bags and flees!" 


	26. Chapter 26: Some enlightenment

**

Chapter 26

**

Tara burst into Madame Hooch's equipment room, off the Quidditch field. She was crying and needed someone to talk to. She had known something was up with her, but figured Tara would talk when she was ready to. 

Madame Hooch had gotten the gist of what was happening; that Tara had seen The Dark Mark on Severus, and didn't know what it was when she saw it, but then read about it, and didn't know what to do. The advice over and over was to talk to Dumbledore, who was clear on what had happened. 

"Why don't we go to the Three Broomsticks for a few drinks?" Madame Hooch suggested. "You know, I've got to teach you to fly soon," she remarked. 

They situated themselves and had two large goblets of wine and Tara expressed how afraid she was. Madame Hooch shook her head, watching her younger friend light yet another cigarette. "From what I understand, Severus was cleared as a Deatheater. He was spying for _our side_ in the first place." 

"A spy?" Tara asked. 

"Yes. Only Albus Dumbledore knows all of the details. I suggest you talk to him. He should fill you in--it's always been sort of a hush hush thing, but you are to be Severus's wife after all..." 

"I don't think so. Not _now!_" 

"Oh Tara, give it a chance! Dumbledore would not have a Deatheater teaching classes at Hogwarts if there was a problem, believe me." 

"But I read all of those terrible things...and the way he speaks to Harry--it just all makes sense!" 

"You know how he is with his students...." 

"But he seems to really have an in for Harry! Oh this is so awful. This sucks so badly!" 

Off in a corner of the tavern, Severus watched in silence. M had spotted him, but Tara hadn't, and M took measures to keep it that way. M silently acknowledged him, and kept talking to Tara, who was chain smoking, and clearly near hysteria. Severus wondered how he could ever make it right. 

The next morning, Tara woke up and felt such a pain in her head. She also realized there was a cool cloth on her head as her eyes fluttered open. Oh no... 

"Drink this..." a velvety voice purred. 

"You've come to poison me?" Tara croaked. 

"I think not!" 

She closed her eyes, feeling a glass pressed to her lips. She drank down the cool, soothing liquid, and then fell back into a dreamless sleep. She awoke several hours later, feeling refreshed. She got out of bed and checked her e-mail. An urgent message from Dumbledore awaited her. She replied and he wanted to see her as soon as she was able to. 

She showered and dressed, and had a morning smoke before going to see him. Food seemed to be the last thing on her agenda. She went up to his office and went to knock on the door, but just as she was about to knock, the door opened slowly. Inside, Dumbledore sat at his desk, and Snape was sitting in an adjacent chair. Her eyes widened and she turned to flee--but then suddenly, she couldn't move. She was being turned around--and saw that Dumbledore had his wand pointed at her. 

"We need to talk," Severus told her. 

"I need a smoke then," she said. 

"Come in. You can do that in here," Albus said. Tara made a face "but it stinks--" she started. "No, it's allright. We have magic to expel it remember?" 

She nodded, and took out a cigarette and put it in her lips, then looked for a lighter. Something grabbed her eye and she saw Severus raising his wand, and he lit her cigarette for her, giving her a dangerous look. 

"Thank you," she said exhaling. "So, what is this about?" she asked, visibly shivering. She was so frightened and began to shake, and couldn't stop. 

"Don't be afraid," Dumbledore told her. She quickly looked at Severus and at his left arm, which was covered, of course, by his sleeve, and back at Dumbledore again. 

"Why not? I've been reading a book..._The Deatheaters_. Everything I've read...why is he _here?_" she asked, as if Severus wasn't even in the room. 

"It's a long story. Severus, do you want to start, or shall I?" 

Severus started. He began telling her of the dark times, first account anicdotes of what it was like back then...and Dumbledore reinforced what he was telling her. Then they got to his involvement and how he became a spy at 'great personal risk'. More recent events were spoken of; the terrifying fact that He Who Shall Not Be Named once again had a body and was gaining strength. 

"The thing is, I am probably near the top of his list to be killed. I need to be very afraid," Severus told Tara, who was wide-eyed. She took out another cigarette, which he lit for her. Whatever Albus had put into the air to dissipate the smoke was working great. "It's important for you to know that your future husband is in grave danger," Dumbledore told her. 

Tara didn't know what to think. She had been so terrified that he was a Deatheater...and now he was in danger because he posed as one and was really a spy for the good side...she didn't know what to think....other than terror. Definitely terrifying in either scenario. 

They all sat for a long time and she emptied her pack of cigarettes, and coughed. "I have never done that before," she finally said, making a face. "So, what now?" she asked both of them. It was clear she was no longer filled with loathing, but was rather pensive. 

"Well, that is up to you. I should have told you a lot sooner, but things moved so _quickly_, you didn't have a chance to learn about history," Severus told her. 

She sighed, feeling herself filled with longing for him, then made a face. "I stink now..." she said, realizing she had smoked about 5 cigarettes in a row and probably reeked. No one said a word. "Tara--I don't care. I just want you back with me...if you'll have me. You just need to know...my life is in danger..." 

All at once, she was in his arms, and he was caressing her face. She couldn't see...she was crying so hard. Albus was thrilled. 

"Seems all is well between you two again. Now go. Get out of here. As muggles say, go get a room already!" 


	27. Chapter 27: Reconcilliation

**

Chapter 27

**

Tara woke up the next morning, which was Saturday, and didn't remember where she was at first. She smelled herbal tea that Severus was fond of and knew she was in his room. She inhaled deeply, stretched, and sat up. 

"You're awake, finally." Severus said, pouring himself some tea. She could tell by the light coming through the window that it was much later in the morning than what was usual for her to get up. "What time is it?" she asked. "Almost 9." 

He came over to her and sat down on the edge of the bed, a smile playing on his lips. He caressed her face and she shivered - in a good way, this time. "Oh Sev, I don't know if I can take anymore..." she began. It was as if a cloud had gone in front of the sun. "What?" Severus began, "I thought we -- thought you wanted to stay--" 

"Not that! Yes, I do want to stay. I was referring to--well, I am really sore this morning! That was quite a night," she told him. He immediately relaxed again and kissed her fingertips, one by one, and she wished she weren't so sore. 

"You mean to tell me that _I_ wore _you_ out?" 

"Yes, that's what I'm telling you...oh don't do that. You're making me want to anyway!" she said, pulling her hand gently away. "Did I miss breakfast?" she asked. He shook his head. "No, _we_ missed breakfast. It's allright, I've made something here. That cookbook you gave me has come in quite handy." 

He got up and took a large quiche out of his small oven. Tara was impressed. It was very tasty, and he even provided Diet Pepsi for her. They cleaned up, and they went to her room to check on Heidi and Henry. "I need a shower," she told Severus. "So do I..." he said, and took her hand and led her into the bathroom. 

"_Both_ of us?" she gasped. 

"I think this shower is big enough, don't you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. 

"Um, yes, but...I'm just kind of shy--" 

"I don't think you have a shy bone in your body." 

She blushed and he smiled at her. "I love it when you blush like that. You have an innocence about you that I find impossible to resist. One minute you're smoking and swearing like a sailor, and the next, you blush over something so...natural." 

This caused her to blush even more, and she turned away and began to undress. Slowly. This was all new to her. She heard the rustling as he undressed, and then heard him turn on the water. She was still standing, her back to him, dropping her underwear. stepped out of them, rolled them into a ball and tossed them into the laundry hamper. She cleared her throat nervously, and slowly turned around, but she was rooted to the spot. Neither had a stitch of clothing on, and Tara's eyes were wide with embarassment. Severus strode over, took her hand gently and led her to the shower with him. She stared into his eyes as he very gently wet her hair down for her. 

"May I wash your hair?" he asked. She felt her face grow hot again and she nodded, and he turned her around so he could shampoo her hair, and he massaged her head so nicely, she felt like a cat getting a nice head rub. He rinsed the suds out, and then she turned around to him again. "Your turn," she said shyly, and switched places with him. She reached up and wet down his hair, and then reached for the shampoo. He closed his eyes as she massaged the lather in. She was careful to keep the soap out of his eyes; she had never washed anyone's hair before besides her own. Once rinsed, Severus reached for the fresh scented iquid soap which she insisted on using (she always thought bar soap was gross), poured some into his hands, and very gently and cautiously began soaping her hands, her arms, then worked his way up to her shoulders, his hands sliding languidly over her body. Tara closed her eyes, shuddering. This was the most sensual thing any man had ever done to her, his sensitive hands lingering over certain areas. She rinsed and he gazed into her eyes, handing her the bottle of liquid soap, and she flushed crimson. "I dare you," he purred to her, a dangerous edge on his voice, causing an electric sensation to surge from her head to her toes. That was too much to resist. Slowly, she poured liquid soap into her hand, and put the bottle back on the ledge. She was so shy about it. She hesitated, then started with his shoulders, massaging gently, then explored more--but couldn't linger much--she felt like she was 16 years old and so terribly timid. She loosened up a bit, but it was all a strange, new, experience for her. It was an incredible shower, needless to say, and the water started cooling off. "I think we used up all of the hot water!" she exclaimed. Tara's legs felt like rubber as they rinsed and stepped out. He toweled her off tenderly, quite as if she were a child, then wrapped her thick terrycloth robe around her and kissed her, then dried himself off. Tara sat down at the vanity and sighed heavily. The mirror was steamed up, and she wiped it with a cloth, then stared at her glowing reflection in the mirror, brushing her wet hair. "How come we never did that before?" he asked her, after toweling his hair roughly. His black hair was wild, sticking out in a thousand directions at once and he had one foot up on the edge of the shower enclosure, and he was toweling one long leg. 

"Cos I'm too shy," Tara replied and again sighed heavily. "I thought I was going to um..." she began, and looked up at him sheepishly. "You could have, you know. It wouldn't have offended me," he told her, mischief in his eyes. She shivered again. "Holy shit. What a _shower_..." she said, and stood up. She followed him into the bedroom admiring his nicely sculpted rear end. "Nice ass..." she whispered. "Thank you. I grew it myself..." he said, borrowing one of her retorts she often used when complimented. 

They dressed and headed outside for a walk. Tara lit a cigarette and exhaled a blue cloud which chased off the scent of the flowers which were blooming. "I know, I know, I have to quit this again..." she said, feeling his disapproving stare. "But I'm kind of nervous about things. It's going to be tough this time," she told him, seriously. 

"I know. You just quit when you're ready. I'm not going to constantly nag you about it. I just wish the potion had done its thing..." 

"Well it did, initially. So you had it partially there." 

He frowned, wondering what he could have done differently. "It just lasted for most of the first one I smoked. By the end of it, it wasn't that bad." 

"It wasn't enough to deter you--" 

She shook her head. "I'll quit. I just don't want to right now. I'm a little high strung because of your...situation. Do you think we ought to leave for the US right when the term ends? Maybe it'll be safer." 

"Yes, I think so. I was also thinking...how do you feel if we move the date up a few months?" 

"Our wedding?" she asked, turning to face him. He nodded. "Under the circumstances, I think it might be a good idea to do it sooner. But there are two of us in this relationship." 

She took a puff from her cigarette and turned to the side to exhale. He was right; what if something happened and they weren't able to get married. The thought terrified her. She looked into his eyes and nodded. "When?" she asked. 

"We'll have to figure that out." 

They went to see Dumbledore who agreed with them, and planned to have the wedding the Saturday after the term ended, which was just 3 weeks away. After that, they would go to the USA for the summer. 

"What are we going to do there again?" Severus asked Tara, one night. They were sitting together in a swinging bench outside near the lake, rocking gently. 

"Well, I have a boat. We can take the boat out and do that, go camping, stuff like that. Get some color in your face again." 

"As long as I don't burn like last time." 

"I'll make sure you don't. We'll have to get you some more mugglewear..." she said. "Tough to go boating dressed like this." 

"Allright then." 

The wedding was put together in a hurry, but Tara's mom, Joan, was able to attend. Magic made things possible in their time of short notice that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. It was a wonderful ceremony and there was a huge reception in the Great Hall afterwards. The wine was flowing freely that night, and there was much dancing and celebrating. Everyone wanted to dance with Tara--she had never danced so much in her life! She was thankful that she had decorated some atheletic shoes so she would be comfortable. She had glued lace and trimmings which matched her dress on them with a glue gun, explaining to Severus that the Power of the Glue Gun was equivalent to duct tape in some circles. 

After the reception, Severus and Tara were whisked away to a secret location that only Dumbledore, Minerva, and Madame Hooch knew about. It hadn't been easy to keep a secret. 

That night as Tara drifted off to sleep in Severus's arms, she hoped that their location was secret from You Know Who. That was what mattered most... 


	28. Chapter 28: Wonderfulness

**Note from the Author:** _Finally back after my computer crashed...and burned. Know what a CPU smells like when it's burning? I do. Remember this: If you ever **hear** your cooling fan in your computer, that is like having the oil light come on in your car. Stop the motor. Now. Not good. _

That same day, I was making myself an early morning cup of tea and my long haired calico cat -- who is rather mentally challenged -- jumped up onto the stove to check it out and quickly ran away. Sniffing the air, I said "uh oh, kitty on fire!" She singed herself but luckily the length of her hair prevented injury; it shook her up more than anything. Needless to say, she hasn't tried that again... 

ANYHOW...here is the next chapter. I had written it before but it went away when my computer left the Earth. I'm happily back with a new backup system so this won't happen again. I had lots of reviews and apologize for this delay, and I must say, I had one reader ask that I please have Tara kick the habit again...I did some modifications throughout the 27 written chapters (including the title change to The Web Wizard) and she is smoking cloves instead of the regular nasty type (well both are nasty). I have her as a smoker because it shows some vulnerability, much like JK Rowling has Harry needing his glasses. I also have that habit in there as one of her idiosynchracies. I was originally having her quit in this chapter again, but it ties in with the very end where I kind of went out on a limb, but I have to tie in the danger which they are still in and found an okay way to do it. At least I think it's okay. Well I'll SHADDAP now and let you read on about Tara and Sev....One last word--I am one of the most **rabid** non smokers you ever wanted to meet. Living in California, it is illegal indoors in public, so when I went to Indianapolis last year and was in a pub, I had to go outside because my throat was quite literally closing... 

**

Chapter 28

**

Tara woke up the next morning and stretched happily. She heard rattling in the kitchen area of their suite, and Severus appeared with a Diet Pepsi for her and a cup of tea for himself. He sat down on the bed. 

"Good morning, Mrs. Snape," he purred. 

"Good morning....Mr....Snape," she laughed, taking the cold can from him. She took a sip and set it down, then laid back, and lifted the covers, beckoning him to get back in bed. He obliged her. 

Afterward their early morning tussle, Tara arranged the pillows so they could sit up, laid back again with a sigh, and reached for her clove cigarettes and lit one. "Well that was more fun than laughing," she commented, casting a sideways glance at her husband. He looked at her naughtily, smiling slightly, then announced he had a gift for her. "It's of a more tangible type than the gift we just...had," he explained, opening the drawer on his side of the bed. He drew out a small velvet box and handed it to her, then laid down beside her again. She put out her cigarette so she could concentrate on the task at hand. She really needed to quit again! "I didn't--get you anything--I forgot!" she said, shamefully. "That doesn't matter, we did sort of rush the wedding. I picked this up when we were at the race," he explained. 

She opened the blue velvet box and gasped. Inside was a Faberge egg that was checkered in black and white. Inside was a tiny race car. She had seen these at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and had always wanted one. "Severus! These cost the _Earth!_" she exclaimed, taking it out. She sat up and he fastened it around her neck. "Yes, but I had a lot of time to save for a gift to give to my wife," he told her, planting a kiss at the nape of her neck before she dropped her hair. 

She got up and went to the mirror to admire it. "I love it! And I love you," she said, turning to him. They got themselves showered and 'saved water' by taking one together, then dressed for breakfast. A small cafe was nearby where they had a light meal on a sunny patio. Afterwards, Tara took a cigarette which Severus lit for her. 

"So when do you want to go home?" he asked her. 

"Home? You mean back to Hogwart's?" she asked. 

Severus smiled at the thought that Tara considered Hogwart's her home. "No, I meant the US," he explained, "but I think it's something else that you consider Hogwart's your home now." 

"Well it is, during the school year. But yes, we should go soon." 

There was much to do at Tara's old home. She needed to get it sold, and they had discussed getting a home to spend summers. Tara had several possible locations in mind and suggested they go visit one of her favorite mountain retreats for a bit of camping. She had a boat and couldn't wait to take him out in it. 

"You mean you've never been camping?" she asked. They were heading up a steep, mountain road in her pickup truck, towing the boat. 

"Well, not for recreation," he explained. 

"It's great fun. I think you might like it." They passed a sign indicating that they had reached an elevation of 5000 feet. "We're going 7000 feet in the mountains--the air is so fresh and clean!" 

She was right about that--the scent of the trees was very pleasant and fortunately didn't make him sneeze. They got to the campground, checked in, and chose a campsite, then they took the boat to the ramp to launch it. This took a bit of instruction from Tara. 

"We can't just use magic to launch the boat, someone might notice," she explained, "besides, I've always done it the muggle way anyhow, but I definitely see the advantages of the _new_ way...but we can't." She backed up the trailer and had Severus stand on the front of the trailer to release the boat into the water. He was dressed in muggle attire - a pair of cargo shorts and a t shirt - so he looked semi normal. Tara thought everything was going well until she heard a splash. 

Somehow Severus had managed to slip and fall into the cold water. He stood up, sopping wet, and Tara couldn't help but laugh, he resembled like a drowned cat. He got out of the water, making a face, his waterlogged shoes making squashing sounds as he walked. "You okay?" she asked. "Yes. Just pissed off..." 

They somehow managed to launch the boat without further incident and Tara carefully tied it at the dock. "Okay how will we do this? I guess we can drive back to the campsite then I'll walk back here and get the boat--" Tara said, thinking out loud. 

"I can take the truck back to the campsite," Severus offered. Tara stopped, motionless. "Um, I don't think so...you can't drive..." she began. Severus made a face. "What is the expression--I didn't fall off the wheat truck--" "Turnip truck," Tara corrected him, fighting laughter. "Allright, _turnip_ truck yesterday. I've _done_ things...I've driven autos before," he told her. "Not race cars or anything of the sort, but I am quite capable of taking the truck back to our --" he made gestures trying to think of the word for their temporary residence. "Our campsite?" Tara asked. He nodded. "Okay, well let me get the trailer unhitched anyway. Come on." 

He looked around carefully, then asked, "can you dry me off? No one is around," he said. She surveyed the area and confirmed that they were alone, and took her wand out of the truck's door compartment and did so, then they locked up the trailer and Tara handed him the keys. "You sure about this?" she asked. "I'm positive." 

"Okay, see you back at the camp." She walked back down the ramp and heard screeching sounds, and noticed the truck going jerkily out of the parking lot, stalling a few times. She stopped and started to go back up and he looked out the window at her and waved her off. Someone wasn't doing too well with using a clutch. Tara turned and laughed all the way to the boat. 

Tara had no trouble getting the motor fired up and was back at the camp site in no time. The truck and Severus had somehow managed to make it in one piece, but she could sniffed the air and made a face. "Did you burn up the clutch?" she asked. Severus frowned. "It's been a while since I've driven a manual transmission," he explained. "Made quite a show coming in here." "I'll bet," Tara remarked. 

They began taking the gear out of the back of the truck and she spread the tent out. Severus took out his wand and aimed it at the tent and Tara stopped him. "Are you nuts?" she asked, jumping in front of him. He put the wand down and sighed. "Tara, haven't you learned the dire consequences of being in front of a wand when one is about to--" "SHHH!" she hushed him, looking around. There was a family in a nearby site and the woman had put down her paperback and was studying them intently. Tara grabbed the fiberglass poles and began inserting them into one of the sleeves and motioned for Severus to do the same. Together, they erected the tent 'the old fashioned way' and then staked it down. 

They made their camp and then Tara broke out the lantern, and began tying a new mantle on. 

"We're not done _yet?_" Severus asked. 

"No, not quite. You're not going to get whiny on me, are you?" 

"I think not..." 

"Didn't think so; it doesn't suit you." 

That night by the campfire, Severus had to admit it was an interesting experience, but a "bloody lot of work." Tara was in perpetual motion - gathering wood, building a fire, cooking the food. Severus was helping, of course, but merely followed her lead, coming to grips that they weren't in a good place to use magic. They had made friends with the couple next to them and they brought over some marshmallows, and Severus watched Tara and the couple put them onto sticks. 

"Don't tell me...you've never roasted a marshmallow?" Tara asked. Severus shook his head. 

"You haven't lived!" Carolyn, the woman they had met said. She and her husband, Tim, were visiting from the valley below. 

"Try it. It's good," Tara said handing him a marshmallow which she carefully put on a stick. He made a face at the fact that he was going to eat something off part of a tree, but so was everyone else, and no one seemed worse off, so he held it over the fire, a bit too close, and it burst into flames. 

"Um, it's not supposed to be flambe, just roasted gently," Tara explained. "Come on, I know you're a good cook..." 

He eventually got the hang of it, but set a few on fire before figuring out the proper distance. Carolyn broke out some crackers and chocolate next and they showed him how to make smores. 

"Smores?" he asked. 

"Yeah. Cos you'll eat one and want some-more," Tara explained. 

Severus shook his head. "You Americans are too much..." he commented, enjoying the experience immensely. 

By the end of the evening, they all went out to sit on the lake shore and look at the stars. Severus pointed out constellations and planets to all of them. The lake was so calm, they could see the stars and the Milky Way reflected in it. Carolyn and Tim said goodnight, leaving Severus and Tara alone on the lake shore. 

"You're right, it is magnificent out here," Severus sighed. 

"Isn't it? Ooo! There's another shooting star!" she exclaimed. They sat for a very long time, neither one saying anything. "I want to get a house here," Tara heard Severus say. "Are you sure? We haven't looked at other places..." she began. "Well, it's up to you, but I love it here," he told her. 

The next few days, they spent time looking at cabins until they found one they liked, tucked into a grove of trees. "This should give us all of the privacy we need," Tara commented, her eyes sparkling. "That sounds appetizing..." Severus said quietly. To Tara's delight, she had news from her mother that her house had sold and was now in escrow. Everything was going so perfectly! 

They returned to the Bay Area to take care of getting Tara's things cleared out, and then spent the next few weeks moving into the cabin. Tara and Severus spent every waking moment enjoying their new home. They were always out on the lake in the boat during the day. Tara had taught Severus to fish and he found it strangely relaxing. 

Their cabin was a very nice retreat; there was a large wraparound deck, and they had a hot tub installed at Tara's insistence. Henry and Heidi enjoyed galloping up and down the stairs to the loft where Tara had her office set up. There were enough trees around to give them privacy, yet they could look out onto the lake from the deck. One night they were in the hot tub, sipping wine under the stars, after one of their exhausting lovemaking sessions. Tara lit a cigarette and exhaled luxuriously. 

"You know, when I think of this last 10 months, I can't believe what has happened," she said. "I remember when you and Dumbledore rolled out into my living room and you scared the hell out of me. And here we are. I can't believe it..." her voice trailed off. 

"_You_ can't believe it! Look at the effect you've had on me," Severus commented. He surprised her by reaching for her cigarette. He inhaled deeply, and Tara expected a coughing fit, but to her surprise, he expertly made perfect smoke rings, then looked at her quizzical expression. "I was young once...and well..._tried_ things," he said, handing the cigarette back to her. She glanced at the dark mark on his arm, thinking of things he had tried, and he noticed the flash of fear in her eyes that accompanied the elevator drop feeling in her stomach. He looked into Tara's eyes and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry," he told her. But how could she not? "I'll try not to." She took a sip of her wine, chasing her worries away and looked at him mischeviously. "Now, would you teach me how to make smoke rings like that? I never have been able to do that. Not that I'd want you to take up a nasty habit you once discarded...like I ought to..." 

"If you insist...I can teach you how to make rings...but I think there are more valuable things I could teach you," he said in a dangerous tone. 

"Sounds intriguing...go ahead, I'll be your best student..." 

He smiled at her then. "If you get out of line, you might have...detention!" 

"I'll be sure to misbehave then..." she challenged, as he took her in his arms again... 


	29. Chapter 29: The Burning Begins

The darkness was oppressive, and the cold was chilling Severus to the bone. His captors had made no effort to provide any elements of comfort. He could hear them, just outside the grove of trees where they had him tied. He couldn't move, he couldn't see, he could hardly breathe. They had came and dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night. Tara had been powerless and he could still hear her screams echoing in his mind, and he fought his emotions. He had no idea if she had been taken somewhere else. Was she being tortured? Was she still alive? 

A bright light blinded him, and he squinted against it, painfully. It was him...it was Voldemort.... 

Severus sat straight up in bed, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. Tara woke up with a start, hearing his shout. She saw him sitting up, wearing an expression of fear--something she had never seen on his face before. 

"Are you okay? Bad dream?" she asked, feeling her heart race. He looked at her and sighed. "Definitely a bad dream." Just then, he felt a tingle on his left forearm. Was it his imagination, just the effects of the dream? He rubbed it and Tara looked, puzzled. 

"What is it?" she asked him. He shook his head. "Nothing. Just a bad dream is all." He laid down again and she cuddled against him and soon he heard her breathing slow down as she drifted off to sleep again. He never saw sleep again that night. The sun began to light the sky and he gave up and got out of bed. He decided to try making pancakes. He had seen Tara expertly flip them into the air so how hard could it be? Sure, he could use magic, but Tara seemed to have such a good time mixing them up by hand, he wanted to try it. 

He padded out to the kitchen and put water on the stove for tea and fed Henry and Heidi, then took one of Tara's muggle cookbooks off the shelf and found directions to make pancakes. Tying on one of Tara's aprons, he surveyed the pantry and found all of the ingredients. With a satisfied grunt, he took the eggs and milk out of the refrigerator. "I need a bowl," he muttered. Where were the bowls? He opened up one cabinet that had all of the Tupperware in it, and it came tumbling out as soon as he started looking around and moving things. He found a large glass bowl which looked like the one Tara always used to mix pancake batter. The directions said to mix milk, eggs and oil first in a separate bowl. Bloody hell, he needed another bowl. Back to the Tupperware cabinet, and an avalanche of plastic lids and containers of various sizes and shapes tumbled out. He swore, then cursed himself for picking up Tara's choice swear words. Just then the tea kettle began whistling. Feeling overwhelmed, he flew to the stove to turn it off, then poured steaming water into his cup, positioning a tea bag so the string and tag would be on the outside of the cup. 

His train of thought was completely derailed until he saw Henry leap into the Tupperware cabinet. "Oh no, Henry, come out of there!" On his hands and knees now, Severus reached for the large cat who came out reluctantly, and meowed in protest. Heidi ran up to Henry and got him in a headlock and tried to knock the large cat over. Severus stood up and sighed, as the two cats insisted on being underfoot, then they dashed off into the living room. "Now _what_ was I doing...oh yes. The liquid ingredients..." 

Now he had another dilemma, he had to find an eggbeater or that wire whisk Tara loved to use. He opened one drawer after another, removing contents and finally found the whisk. 

"What the--" 

Severus looked up to see that Tara had entered the kitchen. Tara was clearly miffed; it looked like an earthquake had rocked her normally tidy kitchen. Every drawer and cabinet were open and there was Tupperware all over the floor, contents of the drawers were all over the counters, and then her horror turned to laughter when she looked at her husband standing there wearing her apron with cats on it, holding a wire whisk, with flour in his hair. How did he always manage to get food in his hair? 

"I thought I would cook breakfast. Now, get your Pepsi, and go sit," he said, opening the refrigerator to get a diet Pepsi. He handed it to her. "I'll clean up, I promise," he assured her. 

"Okay. My God. Let a man in the kitchen and all hell breaks loose..." she said, taking her Pepsi. She went outside to the deck to have a clove. 

Severus was whisking up the liquid ingredients, happily. This wasn't so hard...not at all. Next he combined the other ingredients and made a batter. It was kind of thick. But maybe that would make them fluffy, he thought, turning on the stove. He had seen her test the temperature of the pans by throwing some water droplets in, and that was no problem. Now where was the butter? He threw some butter in which danced happily on the hot pan, and then ladeled in some of the thick batter. 

"Cook until you see bubbles appear on the surface, then flip the pancake over." Well, the problem was, he didn't see any bubbles appear, and pretty soon, the pancake was clearly burning. He flipped it over and yes, it was blackened, but not too badly. Or maybe it was. He cursed again, and removed the pancake from the pan, and flung it behind him so it would land in the sink. He stopped cold when he heard a crash. 

Tara heard the shattering glass too; she put her cigarette out and hurried into the house. Severus was standing in the kitchen, staring in disbelief at the broken window above the sink. 

"What the hell happened?" Tara asked. 

"I burnt a pancake..." 

"And you broke a window? I thought you didn't have problems with rage, Severus--Albus assured me--" 

"I didn't break the window in a _rage_. I broke it with a pancake." 

"You what?" Tara asked, not sure she had heard correctly. 

"I burned a pancake and tossed it to the sink, it hit the window and--" 

Tara burst out laughing. "You broke a window with a pancake. What did you put in the batter? Rocks? Severus, I think you'd better leave the pancake cooking to me." He stood aside sheepishly as she inspected the thick batter. It was worse than she thought. "Shit, what is this, cement?" 

"I followed the recipe," he said innocently, pointing at the cookbook. 

"Recipe? You made them from scratch?" 

"Well, yes. Isn't that how--" 

"Well you can, but I prefer this," she said, going to the pantry. She pulled out a box of Bisquick. "This is much easier, and foolproof. You broke a window with a pancake. This is going to be a great story to tell at Hogwarts," she laughed. "You want to fix that before we go on?" she said to his dangerous look. 

He nodded and took his wand out to fix window. "Wait--not yet." Tara went outside and saw the carnage of glass and a charred pancake and took a picture with her digital camera. This was too funny. The picture came out great; complete with Sev's bewildered expression as he peered out through the broken pane of glass. "Are you finished?" he asked her. She nodded, still laughing, and he fixed the window. 

Tara took over in the kitchen, and Severus marveled at how she flipped the pancakes in the air. "What do you think I am, some sort of muggle?" she asked him. 

"Not at all." He sighed heavily, and sipped his tea. 

Tara fixed them breakfast in no time flat, complete with bacon, sausage and freshly squeezed orange juice. They ate outside on the deck. 

"I think you are going to fatten me up with your good cooking," Severus remarked. 

"Good thing robes are in at Hogwarts!" Tara remarked. Since she had ended up cooking, he cleaned up the kitchen, with a little help from some domestic spells. He joined Tara out on the deck where she was smoking a clove. 

"So what are we going to do today?" he asked her, sitting down. It was her turn to pick an activity. 

"Oh I don't know. We could go out on the boat and fish. It won't be long before we have to start closing up the house for the winter," she remarked, "might as well enjoy our free time while we have it." 

"I agree. I'm pretty tired, I didn't exactly sleep so well last night," he said, watching her take a deep drag from her cigarette. 

"Oh yeah, that nightmare you had. Kept you awake afterwards?" 

He nodded, his expression darkening. "I never got back to sleep." 

"Well maybe you ought to take a nap. You can sleep on the boat," she offered. He thought that sounded good. They dressed, got their gear together and got out onto the boat. Severus was very relaxed and folded one of the seats down and was soon fast asleep. 

Tara relaxed, deeply engrossed in a trashy romance novel while her fishing rod was sitting in the holder, waiting for dinner to swim by. Severus was in a deep sleep, snoring ever so slightly. He only snored when he was extremely tired, thankfully. 

During the course of the afternoon, she caught a couple of trout, then turned around, hearing Severus use a word that she had never heard him say, and in his style of speaking, it was long and drawn out. 

"Sev, I fear I am definitely influencing you badly," Tara said. "Although I never heard the F word spoken so elegantly though." He was sitting up, rubbing his left forearm. "I'm burnt I think," he said. 

"No, you can't be. You put your stuff on earlier and you've been out in the sun so much the last couple of months, you shouldn't be susceptible. You certainly don't look burnt; if anything, you just look darker." 

Severus _had_ gotten a lot of color from so much time spent outdoors. He even had some deep red highlights in his hair showing up. He cursed again, realizing that there was something to the mark on his arm burning--and it was not from the sun. It was not his imagination either. He had to ignore it. Again. He had to make sure that he didn't worry Tara either. Unless it was absolutely necessary. 

"Want a beer?" Tara asked. Though Severus had never been a beer drinker, he found that he did enjoy an ale while on the boat. 

"I just woke up..." 

"Just asking. An iced tea maybe?" 

He nodded and she handed him an ice tea from the cooler. She grabbed a beer for herself and held hers up in a toast to him. He toasted her back, and glanced at his arm again. It was definitely burning. Just then Tara felt a fish on her line and began reeling it in. Severus got up to do his net duty which he always did, and netted the fish for her. He tried his best to ignore his arm...his call. 

Tara thought Severus was strangely quiet that evening, but he sometimes got into his quiet moods, and the best thing to do was to let him have that, and any space he needed. Tara was the same way and respected that. She retreated to her loft where she was working on her computer class which she would be teaching that term. They only had a month left, and their last week in the house would be spent winterizing it, and putting the boat into dry dock storage for the winter. They planned to come back a couple of times that winter so they had to get a snowmobile and get it parked where the snowplows stopped plowing the roads; the only way to get to their house during the snowy months was on a snowmobile. 

Tara was at the store which was about 10 miles away and had come back and heard a strange voice as she walked up the steps to the deck. She could hear Severus's voice, raised, and another man's voice. "I told you, that was years ago and I am not the same person!" she heard Severus protest. She stopped outside the door, hesitating, then noisily opened it, rattling her keys on purpose. "I'm home!" she said, musically. 

She walked in to see a tall, thin man dressed in dark robes with a pointy face and light silvery hair. He looked at her with cold, steel gray eyes which made her feel immediately defensive. 

"Lucious, this is my wife, Tara Hall. Tara, this is Lucious Malfoy," Severus said. 

"Malfoy--as in Draco?" she asked. Lucious nodded. "My son." 

He did not extend a hand to her, instead he turned to Severus once more. "If you know what's good for you, you'll come. Now." 

Come where? Tara was alarmed and her stomach left. Was this man threatening Severus? 

"I'm not going anywhere. Not now, not ever," Severus said firmly. 

"I hope you don't regret that. Good day." The tall, evil looking man turned and strode out of the house and shut the door behind him. Tara put the groceries down, and stared silently at her husband. He rolled up the sleeve of his left hand. 

"He's calling me. All of us," he explained. 

"Calling who?" Tara asked. Severus's black eyes bore into her own. 

"He has regained his strength. When he wanted to call the Deatheaters together, our dark mark would burn. Mine has been...I ignored it as usual." 

"And Malfoy?" 

"He found me. Us. Somehow." 

"I'm not sure I get it..." 

"Voldemort knows where I am." 

Tara's knees buckled and Severus caught her as she lost consciousness. "I'm not going to let you take her!" he shouted...and he meant it. 


	30. Chapter 30

Tara's head hurt. She felt something cold and wet on her forehead and slowly she opened her eyes. She heard Severus saying something, then felt Noelle licking her nose. She sniffed the air and smelled the scent of clove cigarette smoke and wondered why she'd be smelling that indoors, and her eyes fluttered open. She saw Severus sitting there on the bed, looking at her. 

"Severus--what happened?" she asked. 

"You fainted. You're okay...I caught you" he began, and she realized she must be having a strange dream when she saw him pick up a half-smoked clove cigarette and take a deep drag from it. 

"I must still be asleep," she said closing her eyes. 

"Why do you say that?" 

"Cos you're smoking. You don't smoke; well maybe you used to...bad muggle habit I thought. Let me know when I'm awake for real," she murmured, closing her eyes. She opened them again as the cloth was taken off her forehead. "You're awake for real," Severus told her. 

She groaned and sat up, with Severus's assistance. Henry and Heidi were at the end of the bed looking at Tara, earnestly. Then what had happened came back to her, and she looked at Severus, who was, indeed, smoking. He crushed the cigarette out in the ashtray. "I'm getting dizzy, I should know better than to make myself ill," he muttered. 

"I'm really a bad influence on you..." she began, referring to him smoking..."but what was that man doing here? What did he want? Is he a Deatheater too? I mean--you're not anymore--but you know what I meant..." 

Severus nodded, and got up to answer the tea kettle in the kitchen, and came back with two cups of tea. 

"This is better for us than those clove cigarettes, though less calming" he said, handing her a mug. "I agree. So...can you tell me what we do now?" 

"If I knew, I'd tell you. I am not sure what we need to do. You've never had any training in the Defense Against Dark Arts. I could start to teach you, but there is so much to learn..." 

"You know I learn quickly...but then again, this isn't a programming language," she said with a sigh, and picked up her pack of cloves which was on the end table. "I know they're not good for me, but like you said, more calming," she said, as he lit one for her. 

"I think I'm going to settle for a good old fashioned prayer," she told him. "When the going gets rough, that's what I've always done. He has never let me down," she said, glancing heavenward. 

She took a deep drag from her cigarette and exhaled. "Shouldn't be smoking in the house. It'll reek later..." she began, "unless you remember that spell to get rid of it." 

"Of course...it's an easy one. I used it the other morning after the unfortunate pancake incident." 

"Oh that's how you did it. Nothing worse than burnt pancakes...well maybe burnt popcorn. So...is there anything I can read?" she asked. 

He nodded. "I've always been very interested in the Dark Arts. I'll be back." He went to his den and returned with a few books. "I think this will get you acquainted. It's hard to know where to start. With the juveniles, it's pretty straightforward. But the fact that you're not a juvenile and we're not dealing with a small issue here is going to make it difficult." 

He left her to her reading and he notified Dumbledore via e-mail what had happened. For the next few days, they spent time getting her acquainted with various basics; it's all they could do. 

It seemed like the best thing to do was to get the house ready to winterize and return to Hogwarts early. Severus already knew this and that was what Dumbledore advised in his e-mail back to them. 

Severus was ill at ease, and he cursed himself at the fact that Tara was in danger and it was his doing. Maybe the entire marriage had been a mistake from the start. He was endangering the one soul in the universe for which he cared more than he could describe. One night he was out on the deck, looking at the stars, smoking one of Tara's clove cigarettes. 

"Sev, are you out here?" 

"Yes, I'm here." he replied, making the cigarette he was smoking vanish. 

Tara came out, wearing a long, blue silk robe. She sniffed the air. "Sev, are you smoking again?" 

"I don't smoke," he said simply. She stood up on tiptoe and sniffed him, much like Henry or Heidi would have. 

"Uh huh. Okay so you say...these are tense times I suppose...but still. I feel guilty for bringing that back into your life..." 

"Don't." 

There were other things that were back in his life that were far more dangerous, as far as he was concerned, and she felt that. She peered off the deck. "Hope you don't start a forest fire..there was a big fire here back in 95 or 96...you can't just pitch--" 

"I didn't, I made it disapparate." 

"I should have known. What are you thinking about?" 

He turned to her, knowingly. "Okay, stupid question," she remarked, and he put his arm around her waist and drew her close to his side. 

"I never meant to hurt you...and now it seems inevitable..." he began. 

"I've been studying though..." she said. 

"Yes, but you know what you're up against." 

She sighed. "Yes. I don't know what else to do." 

"There is nothing else." 

Just then they heard a strange sound, like a great wind. The trees they were looking at suddenly stirred as a great wind rushed through them. Tara felt her nerves stand on end and there in the sky above the lake was a beacon--it was the same as the mark on Severus's forearm. They both saw it. Severus gripped Tara's wrist. 

"Tara, you have to go--" .. 

"I'm not going anywhere without you!" 

"Tara - listen to me. Go to your mom's. Take the cats. Go. Now. Do as I say!" The look in his eyes was nothing she had ever seen. She nodded obediently and they both ran inside the house. She immediately took the cats via floo powder to her mother's house, explaining "take care of them and let Dumbledore know that someone cast the dark mark in the sky!" and she left to return to the mountains, leaving her mother shaking. 

Tara was in no way prepared for what she was about to encounter back in her mountain home. She tumbled out of the fireplace and immediately got to her feet, looking for Severus. He was nowhere in the house, and the house was silent. Where was he? She knew to be silent; she couldn't' help but feel that someone had been in the house. Yes, he said to go, take the cats, go to her mom's. He hadn't said not to come back...she wasn't being disobedient... 

She tried to turn on a light and found that the power had been cut. Luckily, she had her wand. "Lumous." She was able to light her way around and couldn't find anything, and certainly no sign of Severus. Without her computer, she couldn't check e-mail to see if Albus had any ideas. Now what? 

Her first talent she had shown was her telepathic tendencies. Concentrate, _concentrate! she told herself. But then again, when she tried too hard, she couldn't get anywhere. Wine. Wine would make her calm down and get in touch. She remembered when she was younger and had smoked a certain herb. That __really_ unlocked her telepathy, but she hadn't gone near _that_ in years. Wine was the closest thing. 

She poured herself a glass of wine and drank it down, then another, and lit a clove. Hopefully the calming effects of both would be with her soon...and lead her to Severus! 


	31. Chapter 31: Finale

Tara sat alone in the dark, trying desperately to clear her mind. That had been the first thing that worked for her in using her magic, back when she was learning simple spells which hadn't been so long ago; just a matter of months. It was so hard to rid her mind of stray thoughts at a time like this; her heart was racing and she was desperate. She wished Dumbledore would tumble out of the fireplace, but nothing happened. Then she jumped. She swore she heard Severus say her name, right in her ear. She realized that no, she hadn't. Had it been her imagination? 

"Tara...the road near the dam...the water flow gate" she heard it again, and knew where he was. She saw it - all of a sudden, there she saw it. Now how would she get there? That was a problem. For her birthday in July, Severus had gotten her her very first broom. She had flown just a little bit and wasn't particularly good at it. She preferred being on foot, but this was an emergency. 

Using her wand to light her way, she took it out of the hall closet and sighed. She had never flown unsupervised, but there was a first time for everything. She had learned the disillusionment charm just in case she was seen, but she doubted that. She walked out onto the deck a little bit unsteadily from the wine she had consumed, and wondered if the Ministry of Magic gave citations for flying under the influence. She hoped not. It took her more than a few tries to get her broom to come up, and she was trying to be quiet. Finally, it smacked the palm of her hand, and she mounted it, gave a kick and she was off into the cool night air, trying not to scream as she gained altitude and speed. Flying really scared the hell out of her and it made it that much harder to clear her mind once again to locate Severus. She flew up to the dam and surveyed the shacks which contained the water flow gates. She closed her eyes and hovered and then felt herself being pulled to one of them. That had to be it. 

She zoomed to it and hovered to look into one of the broken windows, and gasped. Severus was there, levitated several feet above the floor, unconcious. Tara gasped, and landed at the top of the catwalk going up to the door. She drew her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at the door. "Alohomora!" she said quietly and the door swung open. She tucked her broom behind the door and walked up to Severus and felt his wrist for a pulse. His pulse was slow and he was very cold to the touch and it looked like he was not breathing! 

"I'm afraid you can't help him," a bone chilling voice behind her said. She whipped around to see the man who had visited standing there. He had apparated so she hadn't heard him. 

"Mr. Malfoy! What are you doing here?" she asked. 

"I should ask the same thing. Your husband has some unfinished business with Lord Voldemort, and he was reluctant to come with me, so I came to get him." 

Tara was rooted to the spot. "What did you do to him?" she asked. 

"Oh, a little sleeping charm." 

"He's not breathing!" she exclaimed. Malfoy smiled evilly, and then the realization came over her - she had read about Bewitched Sleep but had never seen it used. It put its victim into a deep sleep and they did not breathe during this sleep. 

"Tell me, Mrs. Snape, how did you get in here? Did you use some kind of muggle lock picking device? Or perhaps a battering ram?" 

The realization came over Tara that Malfoy thought she was a muggle! 

"It's a long walk from your cabin. Or did you drive your muggle vehicle over and park it somewhere?" Tara didn't answer; she gazed defiantly into Malfoy's eyes. "I couldn't figure out what Severus would see in a muggle...when I heard he had taken a wife, that was surprising enough, but a muggle was even more so. But I see that you are a very cleaver one. That must be what he sees in you," he spat. 

Tara felt her blood boil and stared at him angrily. "You're what we muggles refer to as _a son of a bitch_," she said. He smiled at her. He raised his wand towards her she was instantly bound in ropes which flew from the end of his wand. He pushed her shoulders to force her to sit down. "I wasn't planning on having both of you here. But, I guess we'll have to make do." He turned and walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. He hadn't seen her broomstick behind the door. Tara sighed, tears rolling down her face. Now what? She knew she should have used that disarming spell but she couldn't remember the word. Expell something. She wished she had a cheat sheet. Now it was going to cost them their lives and there seemed to be no way out of it. 

Tara opened her eyes. She had somehow gone to sleep and now something had woken her. Severus still was hovering in the air, prone, which was a chilling sight. The moonlight streamed in through the broken glass of the water flow control shack. She heard voices outside, below. She struggled to get up; she was cramped from being tied and the cold was seeping in making it even harder to move. She was no kid anymore, she thought, struggling to her feet. She somehow got to the window to glance outside and gasped at what she saw. Malfoy was there, talking to someone who was completely clad in robes. A hood obscured his face and she shuddered. The hooded figure turned and began coming towards the shack, Malfoy staying behind. Tara sat down again against the wall and pretended to be sleeping. She heard the person coming up the steps of the shack, and something curious happened: Her wedding ring suddenly grew warm on her finger. She couldn't see what was going on with it since her hands were fastened behind her, but she could feel the warm sensation. 

The door flew open and she could see the silhouette of the hooded figure, standing in the doorway. Long, skinny, skeleton-like hands pushed back the hood and Tara held back a scream. The eyes were red, and his face was skull-like. He reminded her somewhat of one of the aliens from the film _Independence Day_ but his skin(?) was white, and it looked eerie in the moonlight. He had slit-like nostrils and Tara wasn't sure he was human at all. 

"So. Severus took a wife. A muggle, I heard..." 

Tara swallowed hard. "On your feet.." the skull said, and she struggled to her feet once more. Her ring was now vibrating on her hand. "Do you know what happens when a Deatheater betrays me?" he asked her, looking to Severus, still floating in the air, then back to her again. "Do you? Answer me, muggle!" Tara shook her head, feeling her heart racing. She had read about all of the accounts of Voldemort and the Deatheaters torturing muggles...and now he thought she was one... 

"Well, you are about to find out. Firsthand experience. Then, I'll have to do away with you too." Tara couldn't stop the flow of tears, and Voldemort smiled, and it was the most vile thing she had ever laid eyes on. 

He looked at Severus again and muttered something, and Severus was then on his feet, though still asleep. Tara didn't know what to do. She was still bound in ropes, and her ring was pulsating like a gyroscope on her finger. Voldemort stopped for a moment, and Tara thought he looked as if something was making him sick, if that was possible. Something _was_ wrong with him. Clearing her mind, she could feel that there was something amiss and he was concealing it from her. It became louder and louder in her mind...and then, he raised his wand towards Severus, and suddenly the ropes fell away and she had her wand in her hand. "Expelliarmus!" she screamed, and Voldemort's wand flew out of his hand and out through the broken panes. 

Good shot! Tara thought. Then she glanced at her left ring finger and saw that the Atlantis Stone was fully illuminated, casting a blue beam and the colors were gyrating as if it was about to explode. Voldemort stopped in his tracks, staring at the ring. Tara looked down, confused, then realized that the stone was having an effect on Voldemort. A bad one! Tara held out her left hand, casting the light from the Atlantis stone right at Voldemort like a flashlight beam. Voldemort shielded his eyes, wailing, stepping backwards. Tara was horrified, but kept her ring aimed at him, and he vaporized right before her, his cloak floating out through the open door, taking flight of its own. At that moment, Malfoy appeared in the door, saw Tara with her wand and her ring glowing. 

"So--what have we here--" Malfoy began and then Tara screamed "STUPIFY!" Malfoy slumped to the floor, unconcious. "Now how do I undo the Bewitched sleep spell?" she asked no one in particular, looking at Severus, who, although he was on his feet, he was still asleep and not breathing. 

"Finite Incantatum." Tara turned to see Dumbledore standing, with his wand pointed at Severus, whose eyes fluttered open. Tara stepped up next to him so he wouldn't fall over. He rubbed his eyes, and looked from Tara, to Dumbledore, and noticed Malfoy's unconcious form on the floor. 

"What happened?" he asked them. 

"I just got here," Dumbledore replied. "Tara can tell us." 

"Um, well, it was awful - there was this beacon in the sky and Severus told me to go to my mom's house right away, and I came back, and he was gone--" 

"Tara, I told you to do as I said," Severus began. 

"You didn't tell me to stay there." 

"That's stretching the point...Tara, you could have been killed..." 

"And you surely would have!" Tara said, tears coming to her eyes again. She recounted the incidents and then a voice startled them. "She's not a muggle!" Malfoy had regained conciousness. 

"No, she's not, and you have a lot of explaining to do," Dumbledore said sternly. Malfoy got to his feet. "I'll take care of him. It's almost time for you two to return to Hogwarts. The Ministry will be in touch with you both before then, as will I. Come Lucious." 

Dumbledore and Lucious left the shack, leaving Tara and Severus alone. They fell into each others' arms. "Are you allright?" she asked him. "Yes. But what about you?" 

"I'm a bit tired. Oh Severus, that _thing_ was just awful!" she said, referring to Voldemort. 

"I know. Let's go home now," he said. She grabbed her broomstick and he gave her a puzzled look. "You didn't." 

"I had to." 

"Unsupervised?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"What choice did I have?" 

"I suppose..." 

They flew back to the cabin just as the sun was just starting to illuminate the eastern sky. They stayed close to the trees so they wouldn't be seen. 

After sleeping for an entire day and a half, Tara returned to her mom's house to pick up Henry and Heidi. Dumbledore had filled her in on the events of the night where Voldemort came back to get Severus and how Tara stood up to him, a feat which was not easily accomplished. 

They spent the next week preparing to return to Hogwarts a little early. Tara was locking up the doors and windows, still not clear in what had happened that night. Dumbledore promised to meet with them as soon as they returned, and she felt the sooner the better. She joined Severus in the living room before the fireplace. 

"Ready?" he asked her. 

"Ready as I'll ever be." 

She threw a handful of floo powder into the flames, and off they went...to their life together at Hogwarts. 

**Epilogue**   
Upon Tara and Severus's return to Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore met with them, as promised. He came to see them on the balcony of their new quarters which had been prepared for them during the summer. It was beautiful and airy, and the balcony overlooked the lake. It made Tara think of their mountain cabin. 

"So the Atlantis stone has powers?" Tara was asking Dumbledore. He nodded. 

"Yes, but those powers are unique to each wearer. I once read that it had shown to render some wizards powerless just to be in its presence when combined with a certain wearer's abilities. I thought it was pure legend, but evidently not." 

"You mean it's Kryptonite to Voldemort?" Tara asked excitedly. 

Dumbledore glanced at Severus who shrugged. 

"Oh you guys," Tara laughed, "I forget you never read muggle comic books!" 

That evening, Severus made dinner and they ate on the balcony. He began to pour her some wine and she shook her head. "No, not tonight," she said to his puzzled look. 

After dinner, he brought out her clove cigarettes to her and lit one for himself. 

"You'd better stop that," she said, making a face. He didn't smoke a lot, maybe 2 or 3 per day, but she blamed herself for the fact that he had started up again. He held the pack to her and she shook her head. Unusual. 

"Have you?" he asked her. She nodded. "What's this all of a sudden? No wine either?" 

"Nope. Not for about nine months on the wine. But smoking--nope, I'm all done with that. Not good to do around infants you know, so you'd better cut it out too." 

"I know it's not good for _infants_, but what does that have to do--" the realization hit him just then, and he looked at Tara, who was grinning. "You mean you're--" 

She nodded. He was overwhelmed with happiness, and took her into his arms. His life was complete, and so was Tara's. They had each other, and now they were expecting a new life. 

That night under the covers, Tara verbalized her worries that they might end up with a squibb; a non-magical child. Severus calmed her fears. 

"As long as its our child, it does not matter." 

"Well it isn't the milk man's kid..." Tara joked. 

"Milk man? I'm not sure I understand--what's a--" 

"Never mind...never mind..." she said snuggling close. 

**THE END**


End file.
